Summary:
- Four top Coinbase officials have sold $1 billion worth of COIN shares since the company went public.
- The Coinbase executives include Co-founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, its President and Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi, and Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee.
- They sold their shares at prices ranging from $189 to $422.
- Such sales are sometimes expected, particularly for founders, after having ‘their stakes locked up for so long.’
- COIN is trading at $73 and looks to be entering a consolidation zone.
Four top Coinbase executives have netted close to $1.2 billion in proceeds by selling their COIN holdings from when the company went public in April 2021, till February of this year.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the four Coinbase officials who sold their shares of COIN include ‘Co-founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, as well as President and Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi and Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee.’
Furthermore, they sold their Coinbase shares at values of COIN ranging from $189 to $422. A full breakdown of the $1.2 billion in COIN shares sold can be found below.
- Brain Amstrong and his living trust sold shares worth $292 million.
- Emilie Choi exercised options at a cost of $9.7 million and sold shares worth $226 million.
- Surojit Chatterjee exercised options at a cost of $9.7 million and sold shares worth $226 million.
- Fred Ehrsam sold almost $0.5 billion worth of COIN and bought back $75 million worth on behalf of a crypto investment firm he co-founded, Paradigm One LP.
It is ‘Expected’ for Founders to Sell After an IPO or Public Offering
The report by the Wall Street Journal goes on to point out that some analysts see the sale of stock by founders such as Coinbase’s as being expected, given that they have had their stakes locked up for so long.
This fact was further reiterated by a Coinbase spokesperson who said:
These Coinbase executives maintain large positions in the company, reflecting their commitment to our long-term opportunities.
COIN Has Lost 80% of its Value Since Listing
To note is that Coinbase (COIN) opened trading at roughly $381 in April last year. At the time of writing, COIN is trading at $73, signifying an 80% decrement in value since its public listing.
Furthermore, and from the daily COIN chart below, the value of the stock is in a clear downtrend, given that it is trading below the 50-day (white), 100-day (yellow), and 200-day (green) moving averages.
However, COIN’s daily MACD, MFI, and RSI hint at an oversold scenario that could assist in the stock moving towards the 50-day moving average and possibly retesting the $100 mark. But caution is advised going long on COIN given that the US Fed plans to initiate Quantitative Tightening beginning June 1st, which is next week.