Investor claims Coinbase execs offloaded stock ahead of bad news - report

A shareholder has reportedly alleged that Coinbase Global ( NASDAQ: COIN ) CEO Brian Armstrong, director Marc Andreessen and other executives sold shares within days of their public listing to avoid over $1B in losses. Coinbase ( COIN ), which went public in 2021, opted for a direct listing instead of an IPO. In a direct listing, investors, management and employees sell their existing shares. The exchange's insiders allegedly sold $2.9B in stock before management revealed "material, negative information" that led to a selloff, according to shareholder Adam Grabski's lawsuit unsealed on Monday. "Within five weeks, those shares declined in value by over $1B, and Coinbase's ( COIN ) market capitalization plummeted more than $37B," the derivative complaint filed on behalf of the company read , as quoted by Bloomberg. Grabski alleged that Armstrong sold $291.8M of Coinbase ( COIN ) shares through the direct listing, and Andreessen's venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz offloaded $118.6M of stock. "As the only publicly-traded crypto exchange in the U.S., we're at times the target of frivolous litigation," a Coinbase spokesperson told Seeking Alpha. "This is an example of one of those meritless claims." More on Coinbase Coinbase debuts crypto derivatives exchange for non-U.S. institutional clients Coinbase 10-K, USDC Examination Reports Raise Questions For March 2023 Earnings Coinbase sues SEC to prompt response on rulemaking petition