Coinbase co-founder doubling down, buys $48.8m of COIN shares

Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase and managing partner of Paradigm, has increased his stake in the crypto exchange by purchasing $48.8m of COIN shares, demonstrating steadfast confidence despite the stock’s volatile history.

Coinbase co-founder buys more shares

As per a United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Ehrsam, who also is also the managing partner at Paradigm, bought COIN worth $48.8m in a series of trades this week.

The acquisition saw Ehrsam secure an additional 810,000 Coinbase shares at prices ranging from $59.30 to $63.20 per share.

These recent purchases take his total shareholding to 5.6m shares, held indirectly via Paradigm One LP, The Frederick Ernest Ehrsam III Living Trust, and Paradigm Fund LP.

Having launched its IPO on NASDAQ in April 2021, Coinbase’s stock has experienced significant volatility, sliding around 85% from its opening price of $381 per share.

Despite this downward trajectory, the stock has shown resilience recently, with an 81% surge year-to-date.

Brian Armstrong is selling

Ehrsam’s recent activity follows similar investments by Coinbase insider and Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke earlier this year.

The Coinbase co-founder began his career as a foreign exchange trader at Goldman Sachs before launching Coinbase with Brian Armstrong in 2012.

While Ehrsam is in buying mode, Armstrong has been selling off his Coinbase shares to finance other endeavors, planning to divest 2% of his stake over a year. Ehrsam stepped back from his operational role at Coinbase in 2017 but remains actively involved as a company director.

This latest investment marks almost a year since Ehrsam first capitalized on a dip in Coinbase’s stock, acquiring more than 1.1 million shares for $76.8m.

However, given the stock’s recent performance, his overall investments in Coinbase are down by approximately 9%.