Morning Commentary: Coinbase convertibles hit aftermarket as Bitcoin plummets below par

By Abigail W. Adams

Portland, Me., May 19 – The largest deal of the month, which comes from a crypto-exchange platform, hit the aftermarket on Wednesday amid a brutal sell-off in digital currencies.

While Coinbase Global Inc. was eyeing a 0% coupon in its price talk, the company priced its $1.25 billion offering of five-year convertible notes at the cheap end of talk with a coupon of 0.5% and an initial conversion premium of 55%.

Price talk was for a coupon of 0% to 0.5% and an initial conversion premium of 55% to 60%, according to a market source.

The notes were struggling on an outright basis.

They traded as low as 94.5 and as high as 98.875. The notes were changing hands just shy of 96 shortly before 11 a.m. ET.

While down outright, the notes were expanding on a dollar-neutral, or hedged, basis, a source said.

Coinbase’s stock traded as low as $208 after the opening bell but pared its losses to trade up to $223.69, a decrease of 6.41%, shortly before 11 a.m. ET.

Bitcoin breached a key technical level and plummeted as low as $31,927.17 early Wednesday but rebounded and was trading around $37,044.85, a decrease of 14.44%, shortly before 11 a.m. ET.

The digital currency Ethereum plummeted in kind and was down to $2,632.06, a decrease of 22.02%, shortly before 11 a.m. ET.

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