Coinbase insiders sold over $40 million in COIN during December selloff, SEC data shows

Coinbase, the first crypto exchange to issue stock publicly in the U.S., has had a rocky couple of months. Government data reveals that company insiders and early investors have been part of a significant selloff. 

Per beneficial ownership data gathered by the Securities and Exchange Commission and easier to browse on Dataroma, major players sold $40,631,394 worth of COIN over the course of December. The SEC requires these disclosures of company officers and directors, as well as any shareholders who possess 10% or more of the company’s outstanding stock.

In the three months to date, total sales from insiders amounted to $331,744,516. Those insiders reported zero purchases during either timeframe. 

Co-founder and board director Fred Ehrsam, now also the co-founder of crypto VC firm Paradigm, sold COIN worth $31,369,991 over the course of December. In the same timeframe, chief product officer Surojit Chatterjee sold $9,007,797 worth of Coinbase stock, while chief accounting officer Jennifer Jones sold $253,606.

According to NASDAQ, Coinbase’s all-time high was within days of its April listing, hitting roughly $388. More recently, it peaked at just under $370 a share on November 9, alongside Bitcoin’s all-time high. 

Coinbase’s stock price. Source: NASDAQ

The SEC data shows that Coinbase saw a major insider selloff in early November, featuring many players on the 8th and the 15th. The 4th, however, saw Ehrsam make a single sale worth $63,001,342.

December saw COIN drop from $315 to $252. Today, January 7, COIN is bouncing around the low $220s, with a market cap of $50.095 billion. Relative to that total market cap and daily average volume of over 3 million shares, the sales by insiders are relatively small. 

A representative for Coinbase had not responded to The Block’s request for comment as of press time.

As Coinbase’s November 9 peak reflected Bitcoin’s all-time high, its more recent performance appears to reflect broader declines in both crypto and traditional equities markets. 

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