Coinbase has made a significant move in the crypto landscape by acquiring Echo, an onchain fundraising platform, for approximately $375 million. The announcement, released recently, underscores Coinbase’s commitment to expanding its influence in the realm of early-stage crypto funding.
Echo, founded by prominent crypto figure Cobie, offers a suite of private investment tools and the public token sale product known as Sonar. Since its inception, Echo has facilitated over $200 million in fundraising across approximately 300 deals. This acquisition comes on the heels of Coinbase’s July purchase of LiquiFi, a token management platform. Together, these acquisitions are expected to enhance Coinbase’s offerings in fundraising and token management.
In a statement, Coinbase expressed its vision of creating more accessible, efficient, and transparent capital markets. “Today, founders often struggle to raise capital, and individual investors miss out on opportunities to participate in private token sales,” they noted. The integration of Echo’s tools is poised to directly address these challenges by enabling community-driven investment.
Cobie, reflecting on the journey of building Echo, acknowledged the odds were stacked against him, stating that when he founded the platform two years ago, he believed there was a 95% chance it would fail. “I certainly didn’t think Echo would be sold to Coinbase, but here we are,” he remarked, encapsulating the surprise and success of the acquisition.
The Echo platform, particularly its Sonar product, has already gained traction by powering several notable token sales, including Plasma’s XPL sale. Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, shared his enthusiasm on social media, emphasizing the importance of onchain capital formation and the unique opportunities it presents within the crypto ecosystem.
The acquisition aims not only to start with crypto token sales through Sonar but also to extend support to tokenized securities and real-world assets over time, leveraging Echo’s infrastructure. By merging Echo’s fundraising capabilities with the previously acquired LiquiFi, Coinbase seeks to provide a comprehensive solution for crypto projects, supporting them from their launch phase through capital raising.
Coinbase has been on an aggressive acquisition spree in recent months, having previously acquired Spindl, an onchain advertising startup, and the Iron Fish team to enhance privacy features for its Base network. Furthermore, the company made headlines with its agreement to acquire derivatives exchange Deribit for approximately $2.9 billion, which closed recently. This month alone saw Coinbase investing in the Indian exchange CoinDCX and engaging in talks to acquire the U.K. stablecoin firm BVNK.
Market reactions to the acquisition have been positive, with Coinbase’s shares rising about 2.3%, trading around $343.78 per share following the announcement. The strategic acquisitions and investments reflect Coinbase’s broader ambitions to fortify its position within the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market and enhance offerings for both founders and investors alike.
