If you were to invest $1000 in Bitcoin instead of Coinbase’s IPO, here’s how much you would have

cryptocurrency platform Coinbase Global Inc COIN had one of the largest public listings ever when it went public via direct listing in April 2021. Here’s a look at how shares have performed since Coinbase went public.

What happened: Coinbase went public on April 14, 2021. The company opted for a direct listing and went public at a time when it was experiencing massive growth and the cryptocurrency market was booming.

Many analysts believed in Coinbase’s long-term track record. CNBC host Jim Cramer said in a tweet on the day the company debuted that it had dropped Coinbase to $475.

Ark Funds CEO Cathie Wood also backed the stock and began accumulating shares of the cryptocurrency platform for several Ark ETFs, including the flagship Ark Innovation ETF ARKK.

Coinbase shares have fallen in tandem with major cryptocurrency valuations. Shares are down over 60% year-to-date in 2022. However, the company saw its shares rise on Thursday amid news that the company was entering into a partnership BlackRock BLACK to provide institutional clients with direct access to cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.

With Coinbase’s stock price down significantly since the IPO, the question is whether investing in Bitcoin would have been better than stocks of the cryptocurrency platform. Here is the answer.

Related Link: How to Buy Bitcoin

Invest $1000 in Coinbase IPO or Bitcoin: Coinbase shares debuted on April 14, 2021. Shares opened for trading at $381, well above an initial reference price of $250. Shares traded between $310 and $429.51 on the first day of trading and closed the day at $328.28, below the opening price.

A $1,000 investment in Coinbase’s IPO at the opening price of $381 could have bought 2.62 shares. The same 2.62 shares would be worth $243.66 today based on Friday’s close of $93. This corresponds to a decrease of 75.6%.

Bitcoin was trading between $61,554.80 and $64,863.10 on April 14, 2021. A $1,000 investment in Bitcoin at the opening price of $63,523.75 could have bought 0.01574 BTC. Investing $1,000 in Bitcoin as of Friday would be worth $355.92 based on a price point of $22,612.18. This corresponds to a decrease of 64.4%.

While both investments would have fallen over 60% since April 2021, investors would have done better investing directly in Bitcoin rather than leading cryptocurrency platform Coinbase with its IPO.