Coinbase Lets Retail Customers Snap Up IPO Shares Directly

Coinbase has opened up IPO share allocations to eligible US retail customers. The feature debuted with Oura, a smart-ring maker whose stock began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker OURA on September 21. Customers can request shares from a new IPOs page in the Coinbase app and fund their account to cover the request before submitting a Conditional Offer to Buy once the expected price range is published.

The feature will help US customers gain early exposure to high-interest companies before they hit public exchanges, according to a Coinbase representative. Customers must pass a standard FINRA screening questionnaire before participating, and those who sell IPO shares within 30 days face a 60-day ban from participating in future offerings.

Coinbase has built in a deterrent against short-term flipping: customers who sell IPO shares within 30 days will receive smaller and less frequent allocations than customers who hold longer. This is part of Coinbase's 'Everything Exchange' positioning, which aims to let customers trade an asset at any stage of its life cycle.