Coinbase bought ‘Up Only’ host’s Echo platform for $375M to boost onchain economy’s future

Key points

  • Echo's mission is to change the market dynamics around crypto fundraising.
  • Coinbase and Echo teamed up to make it easier for companies to raise funds and grow.
  • Echo will remain a standalone platform under its current brand for now.
Rada Mateescu

On October 21, Coinbase announced that it has acquired Echo, a leading onchain capital raising platform to unlock the future of onchain capital formation.

Cobie, a crypto OG and long-time advocate for community-driven investing, who started building Echo two years ago in an attempt to try and change the market dynamics around crypto fundraising, said that the project joins Coinbase, but its mission remains the same.

Echo will use Coinbase’s firepower to offer:

  • Better opportunities for investors
  • Boosted fundraising options for founders

Coinbase Acquired Echo

In its official announcement, the crypto exchange revealed that Echo has a similar mission to democratize early-stage investing, so that more people can support the next generation of breakthrough companies.

This collaboration aims to create more accessible, efficient and transparent capital markets, in a world in which founders are struggling to raise capital and individual investors lack investment opportunities in private token sales.

Echo has already helped projects raise over $200 million for more than 300 completed deals since its launch.

Coinbase to Integrate Echo’s Tools

Echo pioneered tools that make fundraising more:

  • Inclusive
  • Transparent
  • Efficient

Echo allows projects to raise funds directly from their community:

  • Via a private sale
  • By self-hosting a public token sale using Sonar

By integrating Echo’s tools, Coinbase will enable more direct community participation, joining projects with capital onchain.

Coinbase’s plans after buying Echo and leveraging its infrastructure include the following:

  • Starting crypto token sales via Sonar
  • Expanding support to tokenized securities and RWAs over time

Building a Full-Stack Solution for Crypto Projects and Investors

Coinbase and Echo will deliver everything required for projects and investors from launch to fundraising and secondary trading. The upcoming solutions target:

  • Builders – Easier access to capital and community-aligned fundraising tools like Echo and Sonar
  • Investors – New opportunities that used to be out of reach, using Echo and Sonar
  • Onchain economy – More efficient, transparent, and globally accessible capital that boosts innovation and growth

Echo Extends Liquifi Support for Coinbase

Coinbase’s latest acquisition comes after the platform bought Liquifi – a project that streamlines token creation and cap table management for early-stage teams.

For Coinbase, both projects offer the following support:

  • Liquifi strengthens the platform’s ability to support builders at the start of their journey.
  • Echo extends Liquifi’s support in fundraising.

Coinbase’s existing strength in exchange listings, custody, trading, staking, and financing will now be complemented with tools from both projects mentioned above to support token issuers and investors across the full lifecycle – from launch to fundraising and secondary markets.

Cobie’s Statements Post Coinbase’s Echo Acquisition

Cobie, Echo’s founder, addressed the latest acquisition via an X post, highlighting a few key details:

  • Echo will remain a standalone platform under its current brand for now.
  • Sonar’s public sale product will be integrated into Coinbase, bringing new ways for founders to access investors and for investors to access new opportunities on the exchange.

Previously, Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, announced that the “rumors are true” and they bought the NFT – UpOnlyTV is coming back. Up Only is Cobie’s crypto podcast.

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Romanian journalist turned Bitcoin advocate since 2017, promoting financial freedom and principled innovation - learn, adapt, build, defend truth. Embracing the future without compromising human values. Featured in Bloomberg, backed by Bitcoin ecosystem leaders, building on crypto.ro.