Coinbase Global, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said Monday it will launch a new platform that allows individual investors to purchase digital tokens before they are listed on its exchange, sending the company’s shares up 4% in morning trading.
The platform will host about one token sale each month and will use an algorithm to allocate tokens to investors who submit purchase requests during a one-week window.
Coinbase said the move marks the first broad opportunity since 2018 for U.S. users to participate in public token sales, citing the difficulty of “token issuers coming to market today” in securing liquidity and distribution.
Investor purchases will be made in USD Coin, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle Internet Financial (CRCL.N). The first project offering tokens on the platform will be Monad, a blockchain startup, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Coinbase said future enhancements to the platform will include limit orders and expanded allocation options for issuer-targeted user bases.