Conversation

SBF
@SBF_FTX
4) Companies could list on NYSE, but then they couldn't issue shares to sell on it and provide liquidity to buyers--not for a while. OR they could IPO: sell some shares to a bank, and then list, and the bank can provide liquidity on NYSE.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
5) And, of course, that bank isn't doing this for free; not when they have a monopoly on it. It's been particularly extreme lately; AirBNB IPOed at around $50, and then traded at $130 on its first day of listing.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
6) Which begs a question: why do IPOs exist, and why are they so cheap? Well, partially they exist because of regulation, and partially because companies want some security going into listing. And partially they're cheap because companies are paying to lock in a price.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
7) But that doesn't mean they have to be *this* cheap. Part of the problem is that, prior to listing, no one really knows for sure what the company is worth, and so there's a lot of uncertainty. And in an uncertain market with a restricted set of buyers, they can bid cheap.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
8) So banks live off the confusion and make money buying into an IPO and selling on listing. The 'oracle price' they're using is essentially an auction with only a few possible sellers; not a very efficient reference!
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
9) It's not the only way companies raise money. (i) Sometimes they use a SPAC -- which gives more flexibility and more potential ultimate buyers than an IPO, though still not a ton. (ii) Or, better yet, they can go to every venture fund in the world and negotiate a sale price!
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
10) The more open the access is, they more fair of a price they'll get, because the more robust the pricing mechanism. (iii) They could try to find a way to let in *any* investor, no matter how big or small, and have an auction -- this is how some crypto IEOs work.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
11) (iv) Or, there could be an open and liquid orderbook--a market on an exchange; the world's most efficient pricing tool. And that's what would probably get the company the fairest price. That's close to what the SEC just allowed--though there are some restrictions.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
Replying to
@SBF_FTX
13) But if you're AirBNB, and you see your stock trading at $95 on FTX, maybe you ask for a higher IPO price than $50; or maybe you opt for a direct listing if you could get it. Well, they didn't--they sold in the IPO. But now think about Coinbase.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
16) That's the power of orderbooks: they're the general purpose tool for people to each express their opinions on a value. They're one of the world's best oracles, when used right. And they say that maybe people will pay more for Coinbase than a single bank's bid.
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