Michael Bellusci
Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto payments reporter.
Over the past week Fred Ehrsam purchased more than one million shares of COINBASE (COIN) worth roughly $75 million, stepping in as the crypto exchange's stock price plunged following the company’s weak earnings report.
According to a Form 4 filing with the SEC, Ehrsam – through Paradigm, the venture capital firm he co-founded – purchased more than 706,000 shares of Coinbase on May 13 at an average price of about $70 each, or nearly $50 million worth. He then followed that up on May 17 with the purchase of another 385,000 shares at an average price of roughly $65 each, or about $25 million worth.
Read more: Coinbase Pares Back Hiring Plans Amid Weak Earnings, Poor Market Condition
The buys brought holdings of Coinbase by Paradigm to more than 3.6 million shares. Ehrsam also holds 1.1 million shares via a trust.
Last week’s purchases came with Coinbase shares tumbling more than 70% in 2022, and off more than 80% from the all-time high hit shortly after the company’s initial public offering 13 months ago. Ehrsam and related entities previously had been consistent sellers of Coinbase stock since that April 2021 IPO, unloading several hundred million dollars worth of shares.
Ehrsam was previously a co-founder of Coinbase, and is currently on the company’s board. He and Matt Huang are co-founders and managing partners of Paradigm.
