Overview
- The complaint alleges Coinbase insiders used nonpublic valuation information to sell roughly $2.9 billion of stock around the 2021 direct listing, avoiding more than $1 billion in losses, with Brian Armstrong selling about $292 million and Marc Andreessen about $119 million via his firm.
- Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick denied a dismissal bid that relied on Coinbase’s special litigation committee, citing material questions about committee member Gokul Rajaram’s ties to Andreessen’s firm.
- The judge noted the committee could ultimately be vindicated but found its report insufficient at this stage to block the case from moving forward.
- Coinbase’s committee, after a 10‑month review, said executives did not trade on material nonpublic information and argued trading patterns reflected Bitcoin-linked market dynamics and limited, supply-driven sales.
- The lawsuit now advances to discovery and other pretrial steps as Coinbase and the defendants maintain the claims are meritless, with the dispute unfolding as prominent tech investors question Delaware’s business courts and promote reincorporation elsewhere.