Parent Company of New York Stock Exchange Earns 1 Trillion Won Thanks to Cryptocurrency

ICE sells 1.4% stake in Coinbase
Sells all shares right after listing
Coinbase stock price hovers around $300

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] It has been confirmed that ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, sold all of its shares in the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, earning a profit of 1 trillion won. This marks a significant gain by a traditional stock exchange through investment in a cryptocurrency exchange.

According to Dow Jones on the 29th (local time), ICE announced its first-quarter earnings, revealing that it sold all of its Coinbase shares and recorded a pre-tax profit of $1.203 billion.

After taxes, ICE earned $900 million, approximately 1 trillion won, from this sale. ICE stated that the proceeds from the Coinbase sale were used to repay debt.

ICE had invested in Coinbase in 2015, securing a 1.4% stake. Coinbase went public via a direct listing on the Nasdaq market rather than a traditional initial public offering (IPO), allowing early investors to sell their shares immediately. ICE did not miss this opportunity.

ICE is estimated to have sold its shares immediately after Coinbase’s listing to maximize profits. Although ICE was surpassed by Coinbase in market capitalization, it gained substantial investment returns as a result.

Meanwhile, Coinbase closed at $294 on the Nasdaq market on the same day, down 1.1%. This is higher than the reference price of $250 at the mid-month listing but has not achieved as much success as the first-day peak of $429. The market capitalization, which exceeded $100 billion on the first day of listing, has fallen to around $55 billion.

The sharp decline in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin immediately after Coinbase’s listing is also interpreted as a factor hindering the rise of Coinbase’s stock price. Bitcoin is trading in the high $52,000 range, down 3.5% compared to 24 hours earlier.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.