Coinbase is expanding access to primary financial markets by bringing initial public offering (IPO) allocations to U.S. retail traders.
Beginning with Oura’s IPO this week, eligible customers can request shares at the offer price before open-market trading starts.
This new feature is yet another step toward growing the Everything Exchange, as Coinbase’s US customers now gain early exposure to high-interest companies before they hit public exchanges.
To request an allocation, you can navigate to the new IPOs page inside the Coinbase app and select an active deal page. After funding your account to cover the cost of the requested shares, you can submit a “Conditional Offer to Buy” once the expected price range becomes public.
Once the order book closes, available shares get allocated using an established methodology and booked directly into your account at the IPO price. Because final allocations depend on underwriter supply and total customer demand, requests may be filled in full, in part, or not at all. You can edit or cancel your offer throughout the open period, though a price change above a set limit requires resubmitting your request to stay in the running. Shares become tradable on Coinbase as soon as public market trading begins for that stock.
The Coinbase allocation algorithm prioritizes investors who believe in what they’re purchasing for the long haul. Selling IPO shares within the first 30 days may result in being barred from IPO participation for the following 60 days, with smaller and less frequent allocations given to those who repeat this behavior compared to investors who hold their IPO shares for longer durations.
Coinbase Capital Markets (CCM) serves as the FINRA-registered broker-dealer making this access possible. CCM participates in IPOs as a best-efforts selling-group member. In this role, the broker-dealer aggregates customer orders and routes them through clearing partner Apex Clearing Corporation. CCM acts purely as an agent on your behalf, meaning it does not underwrite deals, hold inventory, or take the opposite side of trades.
CCM plans to offer more IPO opportunities over time as selling-group allocations become available.