Coinbase valuation hits $77 billion as bitcoin soars past $51,000, report says

• Coinbase hit a valuation of $77 billion last week, according to a report from Coindesk.
• The valuation is based off of trades from the Nasdaq Private Market, with Coinbase hitting $303 per share.
• At $77 billion, Coinbase is now bigger than Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange.
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Coinbase is now worth $77 billion ahead of its expected direct public listing, according to a report from Coindesk.

The valuation is based off of trades last week on the Nasdaq Private Market, with Coinbase hitting $303 per share, sources told Coindesk. That's a sizable increase from its first week of trading on the secondary market at $200 per share, according to the report.

If the valuation holds once the cryptocurrency exchange goes public, it would make it bigger than Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange.

The soaring valuation in Coinbase comes as bitcoin itself continues to spike higher. Bitcoin hit a record high of more than $51,700 on Wednesday and corporations and institutions are just beginning to buy the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin is up nearly 80% year-to-date.

The Nasdaq Private Market runs auctions in private companies that are on the verge of going public. The secondary market allows current and former employees, as well as early investors, to sell their shares in the company.

Just a tiny portion of Coinbase's shares outstanding are available to trade on the secondary market, meaning its valuation could vary once the company goes public later this year.

But according to Coindesk's source, "meaningful amounts" of shares have been exchanged in recent weeks, suggesting the valuation could hold.

"It's not like a handful of shares being exchanged at $300 a share. Each week it's tens of millions of dollars [worth], a pretty sizable amount," the source said.