Insider rumors trail Coinbase acquisition of Tensor Foundation's Vector.fun

Coinbase is expanding into the Solana ecosystem, announcing the acquisition of Vector.fun. The move extends Coinbase’s approach of acquiring successful apps and uniting them under its brand. 

Coinbase announced the acquisition of the Vector.fun trading platform on Solana. The next deal extends the acquisition trend by Coinbase, with a widening portfolio of Web3 tools. The deal is to be finalized after fulfilling all closing conditions. 

Coinbase announced it would only acquire Vector, leaving the Tensor Foundation and the Tensor NFT marketplace independent. Coinbase will integrate Vector’s technology into its consumer trading products, for a wider access to onchain markets. 

Coinbase to integrate Solana DEX trading

Coinbase is adopting Solana as part of its technology, bringing on board the Solana-native team and Vector trading technology. 

Vector had its heyday in early 2025, though volumes diminished soon after that. The platform is on track to achieve $1.93M in annualized fees, while overall Solana trading volume exceeds $1T. Coinbase aims to position itself as a venue for trading Solana-based assets through a DEX integration. 

Coinbase aims to become a central hub for trading all types of assets, faster and possibly cheaper than other markets. Vector’s technology will allow the immediate addition of newly launched Solana assets, which will be directly exposed to Coinbase users.

Tensor Foundation acquires the Tensor NFT marketplace

Following the acquisition of the Vector DEX, Tensor Foundation remains independent to chart its own path. The Tensor project was not a part of the deal with Coinbase. Tensor Foundation will now acquire and fully control the Tensor marketplace. 

The marketplace will now revert 100% of its fees to the TNSR treasury, instead of 50%. A total of 21.6% of the TNSR supply will be burned, and the founders’ allocation will be locked for three more years. 

The marketplace and Tensor protocol will be governed by TNSR holders, which will also be independent of Coinbase. The Tensor Foundation will steer the tokenomics of TNSR and will be entirely outside the governance of Coinbase.

Ahead of the announcements, TNSR rallied to a three-month peak of $0.27. The token’s rally raised suspicions of potential insider trading. Tensor remains the leading Solana NFT marketplace, carrying up to 70% of current daily NFT activity. On-chain data showed up to $1B flowed into TNSR in the past day, causing a 200% rally. 

TNSR broke out on November 20, a day ahead of the Coinbase acquisition announcement and the Tensor Foundation restructuring. | Source: Coingecko

The TNSR rally happened with a trading volume record of $1.36B. TNSR reawakened a day before the deal announcement, while there were no hints of the Vector.fun acquisition. The token relied on its Binance listing, allowing for concentrated liquidity and trading to break a year-long price slide. TNSR remains risky and volatile, and the current rally may not be sustainable.

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