Coinbase has opened access to initial public offerings (IPOs) to its U.S. customers, starting with Oura’s IPO, which will be made available to eligible investors this week.

 

In a blog post this Monday, the exchange said the IPO access is a step forward toward becoming an “everything exchange,” while adding that its U.S. customers will now be able to gain early exposure to IPOs of high-interest companies even before they hit other exchanges.

 

 

To request access to this new feature and an IPO allocation, all customers need to do is navigate to the new IPOs page inside the Coinbase app and select an active deal page. Once a user’s Coinbase account is funded for the cost of the requested shares, they can then submit a “Conditional Offer to Buy” once the expected price range becomes public.

 

Once the order book closes, the allocated shares will instantly be sent to a user’s Coinbase account at the price at which the IPO was listed.

 

However, the exchange also warned users against rushing to sell their IPO shares shortly after they go public. According to the exchange, participation in this program is reserved for investors who believe in what they are purchasing.

 

Selling IPO shares within the first 30 days may lead to a customer being barred from the IPO participation program for the next 60 days, with smaller and less frequent allocations for investors with a repetitive tendency to quickly sell IPO shares.

 

The launch of this IPO access comes shortly after Coinbase recently reverted its Base app to the Coinbase Wallet, an action that was due to the Base app failing to gain traction and perform up to expectations.

 

Coinbase is reversing its Base App strategy and bringing back Coinbase Wallet after falling short of the “everything app” vision it initially had for the platform.

 

This reversal comes just a year after the exchange rebranded Coinbase Wallet as the Base App during its “A New Day One” event, held in Los Angeles on July 26 last year. The goal of the rebrand was to create an on-chain “everything app” or “super app” for users.

 

 

To create the “everything app” platform, Coinbase combined the self custodial wallet features of Coinbase Wallet with social networking, messaging, payments, trading, and creator features, all within the Base App. This created a complete on chain experience where users could trade, create, interact, and discover new apps.

 

Amid all of this, the Base App strategy failed to gain traction. According to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, it was an experiment that did not quite work, stating that the exchange will focus more on trading while bringing back the self custodial features of Coinbase Wallet.

 

Remember that Jesse Pollak, the creator of Base, also recently resigned from his leadership role at Base after admitting that his bet on-chain social products this year had failed. According to Pollak, the social side of the on-chain market had completely disintegrated.

 

The Plan Going Forward

 

Following the rebrand, Coinbase Wallet will serve as a “test kitchen” for features that are not readily available on the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. According to Ryan Kass, Head of Coinbase Wallet Product, Coinbase Wallet will give users access to on chain finance.

 

Among the first set of asset offerings to be made available to users are perpetual futures powered by Hyperliquid, including more than 290 derivative markets spanning cryptocurrency, equity, and commodity markets.