The public listing of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, with an expected valuation of $US100 billion, will open the door to more investors riding the bitcoin wave without having to directly buy the digital currency.

Coinbase is the largest US-based cryptocurrency exchange, used by 56 million people to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies. Its IPO comes amid a surge of interest in cryptocurrencies, fuelled by bullish investment from the likes of Tesla and MassMutual, as well as new applications for the technology including “non-fungible tokens”, or NFTs, for selling digital art.

Trading on the NASDAQ is expected to begin on Thursday, Australia time, with the exchange setting a reference price of $US250 ($326). Like Spotify, Coinbase will be making a direct listing which means it will sell existing shares with no underwriter. Its impending IPO has propelled the price of bitcoin to an all-time high of around $83,000 and also boosted the value of ethereum and other digital currencies.

Henrik Andersson, co-founder of crypto investment firm Apollo Capital, said while the IPO commanded a hefty premium it will be a watershed moment for the entire industry.

“Growth in crypto has been tremendous, and while there’s certainly a premium [on Coinbase’s valuation], it represents one way for traditional investors to get exposure to crypto,” he said.

Mr Andersson said he was a big believer in direct exposure but added that buying and holding cryptocurrency doesn’t make sense for everyone.

“For some investors it’s quite difficult to invest in bitcoin, especially the larger institutional type investors that don’t have the infrastructure to invest directly in crypto,” he said.

“Coinbase listing means that anyone with a stockbroking account can very easily access something that has exposure to the [crypto] markets.”