Maybe they should have IPO'd or directly listed in 2019 at the very peak when everyone else was rushing to the exit as I said before [0]. Of course this is also not in hindsight either. [1]
Seems like they now don't want to wait anymore and just unload their shares into the market and especially onto retail investors.
Coinbase on the other hand is very employee friendly in terms of liquidation. Their employees are rich as fuck with direct listing (no lockup) at the height of the market.
Just think about it.
Coinbase, who is ridiculed for being apolitical, treats employees better than Stripe.
There are big downsides to being public, including all the regulatory requirements and pandering to institutional investors.
Now the bull market is over and private money is tighter, they don't really have a choice but to raise money publicly.