Intel, the American multinational corporation and the largest chip manufacturer, disclosed on Friday that it owned shares worth 3,014 Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange platform, as of the end of June.

In a quarterly regulatory report that is issued to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Intel declared this holding.

“Intel was obligated to disclose the stake to the Securities and Exchange Commission because it owns more than $100 million in publicly traded investments,” Barron, an American weekly magazine/newspaper and the leading source of financial news noted.

The end of quarter 2 showed Intel holdings a small stack of COIN shares. It still remains unknown when the purchase had occurred.

Coinbase shares began to trade publicly in April 2021 through a direct listing on the Nasdaq, an American stock exchange based in New York City. Coinbase since then has seen its shares trading in the range of $210 and $430 per share approximately.

On Friday, Coinbase closed trading at $261.25 per share. At that price, Intel’s end of Q2 holdings is valued at $787,407.50.

“It is possible that Intel invested in Coinbase before the shares were trading publicly. Regulatory filings only require companies that are going public to disclose investors with stakes of 5% or more.” Barron said.

Intel has had its foot in various blockchain endeavors in the past. It has also offered a Hyperledger Fabric-based blockchain solution before. Intel had launched a commercial blockchain package that was based on the Hyperledger ecosystem in February 2019. Intel had announced that this new product was designed for businesses that wanted to launch their own blockchain effectively and quickly.

The cryptocurrency market has attracted a notable amount of attention over the course of 2020 and 2021, resulting in the growing awareness of the crypto industry. 

Rushali Das

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA