NEW YORK- Nasdaq on Tuesday set a reference price of $250 per share for Coinbase Global Inc, projecting a value for the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange at $49.8 billion ahead of its landmark stock market debut on Wednesday.

The reference price is not an offering price for investors to purchase shares, but rather a benchmark for performance when the stock starts trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Echo Wang Editing by Chris Reese) ((E.Wang@thomsonreuters.com; +1 9172873971; Reuters Messaging: E.Wang@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))