Coinbase has opened IPO allocation requests to eligible U.S. retail customers through its app, beginning with the proposed initial public offering of wearable technology company Oura. The September 21 launch gives Coinbase customers a route to request shares before public trading begins, extending the platform from secondary-market trading into primary-market securities, according to The Block.

The offering will provide an early test of a service whose access is conditional: customers can indicate interest, but Coinbase does not promise they will receive shares. Those who do receive an allocation will be able to trade the stock only once public-market trading starts.

Oura is Coinbase’s first retail IPO allocation

Coinbase said eligible U.S. retail customers can request IPO allocations directly in the app, with Oura serving as the inaugural deal on the new service. The company announced the launch on September 21.

Oura’s amended registration statement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the same day, sets out an offering of 50 million shares at an estimated price of $40 to $44 apiece. The company has applied to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol OURA.

Of the 50 million shares in the proposed offering, 13.5 million are newly issued by Oura and 36.5 million are being sold by existing stockholders. The filing describes the proposed terms; the indicated price range and share count are not an assurance of the final IPO terms.

Conditional offers through Coinbase and Apex

Customers using the service submit conditional offers at the expected IPO price rather than placing an order for already publicly traded stock.

Coinbase Capital Markets is Coinbase’s FINRA-registered broker-dealer. It aggregates customer orders and routes them through Apex Clearing Corporation.

Coinbase says it acts as an agent in the IPO allocation process rather than as an underwriter or principal. The service lets investors submit demand for an offering, not secure a guaranteed fill; the number of shares received can differ materially from the amount requested.

Official Coinbase graphic announcing IPO access on the platform. — Source: Coinbase

Allocation is not assured

Coinbase states that a conditional offer may result in a full allocation, a partial allocation or no allocation at all. The company has not presented the service as a mechanism through which participating customers can secure a set number of IPO shares.

For customers who receive shares, trading begins when the stock starts trading on the public market. In Oura’s case, that would follow the completion of its proposed Nasdaq listing, assuming the offering proceeds under the company’s stated plan.

That sequence separates the allocation request from the point at which a holder can sell the stock. It is also central to Coinbase’s policy governing customers who sell quickly after an IPO begins trading.

A 30-day holding incentive

Coinbase said customers who sell allocated IPO shares within the first 30 days may be barred from future IPO participation for 60 days; repeat early sellers may receive smaller allocations or allocations less frequently in subsequent offerings.

For Oura applicants, the process remains conditional: customers offer at the expected IPO price, may receive a full, partial, or zero allocation, and can trade allocated shares once public-market trading begins. The 30-day rule therefore bears on future access and allocation treatment, not initial tradability.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Source: Crypto Daily