Coinbase doubles down on on-chain capital formation, acquires Echo for $375 million

On Tuesday, Coinbase Global acquired Echo for roughly $375 million, marking the firm’s eighth deal so far this year. Coinbase said it acquired Echo because it allows crypto companies to raise capital directly on the blockchain quickly.

The startup, which focuses on on-chain capital formation, was founded by a longtime crypto figure known by its pseudonym Cobie. Since its launch, the firm has helped projects raise over $200 million across roughly 300 deals. Echo’s token sale product, Sonar, has also helped power Plasma’s XPL token sale.

Coinbase doubles down on on-chain capital formation

Echo helps startups to raise capital directly from their communities through either private or self-hosted public token sales using a product called Sonar. Coinbase said the initiative will help it build a full-stack solution for crypto fundraising.

The initiative aims to help startups get easy access to capital and tools like Echo that align fundraising with their user base. It also opens the door for investors to early-stage opportunities that were often gated behind private networks.

The crypto exchange revealed plans to expand Echo’s infrastructure beyond crypto over time. The company said it hopes to support tokenized securities and real-world assets eventually.

Coinbase revealed that Echo has pioneered tools that make fundraising more inclusive, transparent, and efficient. The firm wants to create more accessible, efficient, and transparent capital markets. The exchange noted that current founders often struggle to raise capital, and individual investors don’t have the opportunity to invest in private token sales.

Coinbase acknowledged that Echo complements its recent acquisition of Liquifi, which helps startups with token creation and cap table management. The firm said that although Liquifi helped strengthen its ability to support builders at the start of their journey, Echo extended that support into fundraising. The crypto exchange believes it can now support issuers and investors across a startup’s full lifecycle since it already supports listings, custody, staking, trading, and financing. 

Liquifi is already integrated into teams like Uniswap Foundation, OP Labs, Zora, Ethena, and Ox, to help launch and manage their tokens. Coinbase said its goal is to bring more than a billion people on-chain by removing the barriers and providing both the product and the expertise to make token launches simple, compliant, and scalable.

Coinbase added that the initiative will help the firm partner more efficiently with builders earlier in their lifecycle, before tokens are launched or listed. The crypto exchange also plans to integrate such capabilities with Coinbase Prime to give issuers tools directly from its Prime platform.

Coinbase seeks to revive the UpOnly podcast

The latest Echo integration follows Coinbase’s acquisition of an NFT that compels Cobie’s crypto podcast UpOnly for approximately $25 million. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that the company bought the NFT to bring back the UpOnly podcast for a new season.

Jordan Fish/Cobie said during UpOnly’s last episode, which was uploaded to YouTube in December 2022, that he will no longer be the decision maker if the podcast returns. Despite the firm paying $25 million for the NFT, it was listed on OpenSea for only 4.7 ETH ($18,500). 

The non-fungible token also ranks fifth among the most expensive funds sold in crypto’s history. The podcast describes itself as a production that prioritizes entertainment before alpha, but mostly, there is neither.

The news caused a surge in Coinbase’s Layer-2 network Base activity, notably on a memecoin called UPONLY, which skyrocketed 5,800%. A Solana-based memecoin called UPONLY also hiked by 250% at the same time.

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