Nas could hit $100+ million net worth as Coinbase lists on Nasdaq

U.S. rap icon Nasir Jones (stage name Nas) is set to net over $100 million, thanks to his investment in Coinbase.

The cryptocurrency exchange is expected to climb over $100 billion in valuation at $350 per share after its Wednesday debut under the symbol COIN. The company went public through a direct listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The company went public with a standard network of investment banks that undertook a “roadshow” where they presenting the company’s financials to investors. The underwriting banks guaranteed a minimum price per share for relatively high fees among other costs.

Many company insiders and investors stand to gain a lot of profit following Coinbase’s IPO. The company’s co-Founder and CEO Brian Armstrong is expected to net $10-14 billion. Other investors are also set to net millions of dollars higher than their current net worth and one of the notable investors is Nas. Over the years, the rapper has proven to be a successful investor in venture capital. He began his investment journey in 2013 when he made a six-figure investment in “Mass Appeal”, a defunct media brand. With capital support from investment firm White Owl Partners and Nas, Mass Appeal was rejuvenated from a failed brand to one of the most sought-after media companies that offer services such as quarterly print publication, creative agency, a digital video production company, and documentary production company.

After much progress with Mass Appeal, Nas co-founded QueenBridge Venture Partners to handle all his investments. He raised about $10 million from investors and injected millions of his own money into the firm.

In 2013, Nas’s QueensBridge Venture Partners invested in Coinbase in a Series B round, raising $25 million, valuing Coinbase at about $143 million The firm remains on the Coinbase cap table, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency platform in the United States. A direct listing makes its shares open to the market for some time with little to no banking fees. One of the most famous direct listings was Google’s 2004 IPO.

Since its founding, QueensBridge has successfully invested in dozens of companies and reportedly hears 100 pitches per month to this day. Some of its notable investments include:

• Casper

• Coinbase

• Dropbox

• General Assembly

• Genius

• Lyft

• Pill Pack

• PlutoTV

• Ring

• Robinhood

• SeatGeek