Binance and FTX list Coinbase stock tokens ahead of exchange's Nasdaq debut

Major global cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance and FTX have announced the listing of Coinbase’s stock token ahead of its direct listing on Nasdaq.

According to a Wednesday announcement, Binance will list Coinbase's stock token (COIN) today, allowing its users to trade fractional Coinbase stock on the Binance website.

The new stock token will trade against Binance USD (BUSD), Binance’s stablecoin pegged to the United States dollar and issued by Paxos Trust Company.

Binance said that Coinbase stock tokens are zero-commission digital tokens fully backed by a depository portfolio of underlying securities representing the tokens. The exchange stated that holders of stock tokens qualify for economic returns on the underlying shares, including potential dividends.

Stock token trading on Binance will follow traditional exchange hours and is not available for residents in Mainland China, Turkey, and other restricted jurisdictions. The move comes shortly after Binance listed a tradable stock token for Tesla earlier this month.

FTX, a major crypto derivatives trading platform, put out a similar announcement today, stating that the platform has already listed the COIN token. “COIN is a pre-IPO contract. It tracks Coinbase’s market cap divided by 261,300,000. CBSE balances will convert into the equivalent amount of Coinbase Fractional Stock tokens at the end of Coinbase’s first public trading day,” FTX stated on its COIN/USD market page.

“In the event that Coinbase does not publicly list by June 1, 2022, COIN balances will cash-expire to $30.62, in line with an 8 billion dollar valuation,” FTX noted. At the time of writing, the price of COIN token hovers around $580 on FTX.

COIN price chart. Source: FTX

Coinbase announced that it expects to introduce Class A common stock for trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on April 14.

In a Wednesday blog post, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong said that the exchange’s listing is part of the company’s mission to increase economic freedom:

“Today’s listing is a milestone, but it’s not as important as every new day in front of us. [...] Everyone deserves access to financial services that can help them build a better life for themselves and their families. We have a lot of hard work to do to make this a reality.”