What was the first cryptocurrency exchange to go public?

The first cryptocurrency exchange to go public was Coinbase.

Coinbase Global began trading on Nasdaq on April 14, 2021, under the ticker COIN. It used a direct listing rather than a traditional initial public offering, allowing existing shareholders to sell shares directly without the company issuing a large batch of new stock. The debut made Coinbase a landmark public company for the cryptocurrency industry.

Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. Its exchange helped customers buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through a regulated U.S. platform, giving public-market investors a way to gain exposure to crypto without directly holding coins.

A common mix-up is calling the event an IPO. Although widely described that way, Coinbase technically went public through a direct listing. The claim also generally means the first major cryptocurrency exchange to become publicly traded; smaller crypto-related companies and firms connected to digital assets may have reached public markets through different routes earlier.