Google executives 2020 move to Coinbase worth $US646 million – Sydney Morning Herald

Even for Silicon Valley, Surojit Chatterjees rise to extraordinary wealth was lightning fast.

The chief product officer has been with Coinbase, the biggest US crypto exchange, for just 15 months. The former Google executives Coinbase stake was worth about $US180.8 million after its first volatile day of trading in New York on Wednesday (US time). Hes also set to receive share options within the next five years that are currently worth about $US465.5 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Coinbase chief product officer Surojit Chatterjee with CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong.

Chatterjee, who was 46 as of February and oversees product management and design, joins Coinbase founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam as major winners of the firms Nasdaq debut. Together, their stakes are worth more than $US16 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The listing wasnt without drama. Coinbase, listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker COIN, opened at $US381 The price rose to almost $US430 before retreating to close at $US328.28, up 31 per cent from the $US250 reference price set by Nasdaq ahead of the first trade. That puts Coinbases market value at $US85.78 billion.

Its another milestone though in putting crypto further into the mainstream. The company went public as Bitcoin - which together with Ethereum made up most of its 2020 trading volume - is trading around its all-time high. Bitcoin has more than doubled in price this year to about $US64,000.

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Chatterjees Coinbase stake is a dramatic example of the instant equity employees can receive when joining startups. Gone are the days when equity was mainly distributed in tranches over many years, a reward for loyalty as well as performance.

Chatterjee joined Coinbase last February after three years at Alphabets Google, where he led the companys shopping platform during his second stint at the search giant. He previously headed product and delivery for mobile search ads and AdSense before a brief stop at Indian e-commerce site Flipkart. His experience at the Bangalore-based company appealed to Armstrong.

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Google executives 2020 move to Coinbase worth $US646 million - Sydney Morning Herald