Coinbase Opens IPO Access — Oura Is First, But There’s a Catch

Coinbase is taking its “Everything Exchange” ambitions beyond crypto. On September 21, the exchange launched a new service allowing eligible U.S. retail customers to request allocations in initial public offerings (IPO) directly through the Coinbase app.

The first test is Oura, the smart-ring company targeting a Nasdaq listing under the ticker OURA.

For retail investors, the important difference is timing: Coinbase users can request shares at the IPO offer price before public-market trading begins.

How Coinbase’s IPO Access Works for Retail Investors

The new Coinbase IPO process works inside the app. Eligible customers select an active offering, fund their account for the requested shares and submit a “Conditional Offer to Buy.” Once the order period closes, Coinbase distributes the shares it receives according to its allocation methodology.

That does not mean every request will be filled.

Depending on available supply and total demand, a customer can receive the full allocation requested, only part of it, or nothing. Customers must also complete a FINRA eligibility questionnaire.

The service is being provided through Coinbase Capital Markets, Coinbase’s FINRA-registered broker-dealer. Coinbase says shares become tradable on its platform once public-market trading begins.

Who Can Participate in Coinbase IPOs?

For now, the service is limited to eligible U.S. customers and depends on Coinbase receiving allocations in individual IPOs. Coinbase says it plans to offer more IPO opportunities as additional selling-group allocations become available.

Oura’s $2.2 Billion IPO Puts the New System to the Test

Oura, the smart-ring maker, is the first company to use Coinbase’s new IPO channel.

The company and existing shareholders plan to sell 50 million shares at $40 to $44 each. At the top of the range, the offering represents up to $2.2 billion in gross proceeds and implies a fully diluted valuation of about $15.62 billion.

That would put Oura’s valuation well above its previous private-market valuation of about $11 billion.

But most of the IPO shares are being sold by existing investors.

Oura plans to sell 13.5 million shares, while existing shareholders will sell 36.5 million. As a result, most of the proceeds will go to those investors rather than directly to Oura.

Why Oura’s IPO is Attracting Attention

Oura is coming to market after a year of strong growth.

The company sold 3.6 million rings in the 12 months ended June 30 and generated $1.21 billion in revenue, up 74% from a year earlier. Oura also expects to reach 5.7 million paid members in fiscal 2026.

The numbers show a business combining hardware sales with recurring subscription revenue. But they also set a higher bar for the IPO.

At $15.62 billion, the proposed valuation would be roughly 42% above Oura’s previous private-market valuation of about $11 billion.

The offering will therefore test both investor demand for Oura and Coinbase’s new route for bringing companies to the public market.

The Catch: Coinbase’s IPO Rules Discourage Early Selling

Coinbase is also putting limits around what customers can do with their IPO shares.

The platform says its allocation system is designed to prioritize investors who intend to hold their shares longer term. Selling IPO shares within the first 30 days may result in a 60-day ban from participating in future IPOs on Coinbase. Repeated early selling may also lead to smaller or less frequent allocations.

That makes Coinbase’s offering different from a simple mechanism for obtaining shares at the IPO price and immediately flipping them after the opening bell.

Coinbase is Moving Beyond Crypto

Coinbase has increasingly positioned itself as an “Everything Exchange,” expanding its financial products beyond crypto. Adding access to primary-market IPO allocations takes the company another step into territory traditionally dominated by investment banks and established brokerages.

What Coinbase IPO Access Means for Retail Investors 

For retail investors, Coinbase’s IPO access means they can request shares before trading begins, giving them an opportunity to participate in an offering at the IPO stage. 

Whether that becomes a meaningful new route for retail participation will depend on two things Coinbase cannot fully control: how many IPO allocations it receives and how much demand those offerings generate.

For now, Oura is the first company available through Coinbase’s new IPO channel. The more interesting question is what happens when Coinbase starts bringing additional IPOs to its retail users — and whether demand will be large enough that getting an allocation becomes harder than simply getting access.

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