Coinbase is expanding its US retail offering by allowing eligible customers to request shares in selected initial public offerings before public trading begins.

London’s trading industry is coming home!

The move comes as crypto platforms expand into traditional markets. Kraken’s parent Payward has moved to give retail investors access to selected US IPOs, while Coinbase has expanded into US stock trading for UK users and received FCA approval to offer stocks and derivatives.

Coinbase Launches IPO Access with Oura

The service will start with Oura’s IPO this week. Customers can request shares at the offer price through a new IPO section in the Coinbase app once the expected price range becomes available.

Customers must fund their accounts before submitting a “Conditional Offer to Buy”. Allocations depend on available shares and total demand, so requests can be filled fully, partially or not at all. Shares will become tradable on Coinbase once public-market trading begins.

Coinbase said its allocation system considers investors’ holding behaviour. Customers who sell IPO shares within the first 30 days may be barred from participating in IPOs for the following 60 days. Repeated early selling can also result in smaller allocations.

Coinbase Uses Broker Dealer for IPO Access

The service is provided through Coinbase Capital Markets, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer. CCM will participate in IPOs as a best-efforts selling-group member, aggregate customer orders and route them through Apex Clearing Corporation.

Coinbase said CCM acts as an agent and does not underwrite deals, hold inventory or take the opposite side of customer trades.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.Retail FXRead More

You might also be interested in reading What Crypto Can Learn From Regulatory Overhauls at PayPal, Robinhood and Revolut.