Crypto General
August 14, 2021
4 minutes read

Intel Discloses Stake In Crypto Exchange Coinbase

In an unlikely turn of events, Intel, the chipmaking giant, has disclosed to investors that it has a stake in…

In an unlikely turn of events, Intel, the chipmaking giant, has disclosed to investors that it has a stake in Coinbase, the famous cryptocurrency exchange that went public this year. The chipmaker made this known in a recent SEC filing.

Intel’s Coinbase investment is albeit very small, just worth about $800k as of the time of disclosure. The chipmaker owns 3,014 stock units of the crypto company.

It’s unclear when Intel acquired its stake in Coinbase and why. It may have done so during Coinbase’s direct listing in April or maybe after that. As to why, it may be for strategic purposes.

In the tech world, companies usually invest in other companies to secure strategic partnerships or sometimes to convert their cash to equities that could increase in value. But given Intel’s very small stake in Coinbase, it seems like the former, as $800k can hardly grow so big.

In total, Intel disclosed having nearly $170mn worth of shares in four public companies, with Coinbase ($800k) as the smallest and cybersecurity company McAfee Corp (a former Intel subsidiary) the biggest ($160mn). The two other companies are MaxLinear, a semiconductor hardware firm, and Shift4, a payment processing company.

Intel’s acquired stake in Coinbase is an apparent bet on the future of the cryptocurrency exchange, though the relative value of $800k seems almost nonexistent for a company that made $21bn in profit in 2020.