May 12 (UPI) — Coinbase Global Inc. will join the S&P 500 next week, the first-ever crypto company to be included in the benchmark index, as shares soared in extended trading after the move was announced Monday.
The San Francisco-based crypto exchange will replace Discover Financial Services on the S&P 500 next Monday, once Discover’s acquisition by Capitol One Financial is finalized.
Shares of Coinbase, or COIN on the Nasdaq, jumped 8% in after-hours trading Monday to $225 per share after ending the regular trading day up 4%.
Coinbase is the largest bitcoin exchange in the United States. It was also the first major cryptocurrency company to go public in 2021. Despite falling revenue, Coinbase managed to report a profit for the latest quarter, which is a requirement to make the S&P 500.
The Coinbase announcement comes just days after Bitcoin topped $100,000 to near its record price set in January. Bitcoin is up 10% this year, while Coinbase shares are down 17%.
Coinbase recently announced plans to buy Dubai-based Deribit, a major crypto derivatives exchange, for $2.9 billion in the largest crypto industry deal ever.
Last week, Coinbase reported a net income of $65.6 million, or 24 cents a share. That is down from $1.18 billion, or $4.40 a share a year earlier. Revenue was up 24% to $2.03 billion from $1.64 billion a year ago.
Stocks added to the S&P 500 typically rise in value. The index is heavily weighted towards tech, including Dell, artificial intelligence server maker Super Micro Computer, security software vendor CrowdStrike and defense software provider Palantir.
On Monday, Coinbase thanked “everyone who made it possible for a crypto company to join the S&P 500 for the first time in history.”
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you,” Coinbase wrote in a post on X. “Then they fight you. Then they add you to the S&P 500.”
