Coinbase agrees to acquire Echo, a blockchain platform to let crypto companies quickly raise capital, for ~$375M, marking Coinbase's eighth acquisition in 2025

Acquisition marks Coinbase's eighth deal this year — Coinbase Global has struck a roughly $375 million deal to acquire Echo …

Wall Street Journal 2025-10-21 Lauren Thomas

Context & Ripple Effects

Coinbase has long used deals to broaden beyond its original exchange footprint, from buying institutional asset manager One River to its much larger agreement to acquire Deribit’s crypto-options platform. Echo extends that expansion toward capital formation for crypto companies.

The purchase is Coinbase’s eighth announced acquisition of 2025, making the pace of portfolio-building itself material: the company is assembling adjacent services rather than relying on a single trading product.

First-order effects

Echo’s capital-raising platform moves under Coinbase, giving the exchange a direct foothold in tools used by crypto companies seeking funding.
Coinbase adds another acquired product and team to integrate, alongside its other 2025 deal activity.

Second-order effects

Capital-raising platforms serving crypto issuers may face a stronger competitor with Coinbase’s brand and existing industry reach, increasing pressure to differentiate on workflow, access, or specialization.
For crypto companies, a Coinbase-owned option could tie fundraising more closely to the broader exchange ecosystem, though the practical effect will depend on how Echo is integrated and offered.

Third-order effects

If Coinbase continues buying adjacent infrastructure, large crypto venues could increasingly compete as multi-service financial platforms spanning trading, derivatives, asset management, and company financing.
That consolidation may make product breadth and integration a larger competitive advantage than standalone functionality, while concentrating more market infrastructure within a small set of platforms.

The trend: Crypto exchanges are using acquisition-led expansion to build vertically broader financial-services ecosystems around trading.

Discussion

@brian_armstrong Brian Armstrong on x
The rumors are true, we bought the NFT. @UpOnlyTV is coming back. [image]
@cobie @cobie on x
when i started building echo 2 years ago, i knew it had 95% chance of failing. to be honest, i couldnt really imagine any other outcome, but i thought at least it may be a noble failure worth attempting. i certainly didn't think echo would be sold to coinbase, but, here we are:
@cobie @cobie on x
It has been 3 years since up only ended. I was in my 20s when it started, now I have grey hair. We will rename it Unc Only and I will spend $25m on cosmetic surgery. See ya soon
@brian_armstrong Brian Armstrong on x
Just burnt the NFT. Your move @UpOnlyTV @Cobie @ledgerstatus.
@echodotxyz @echodotxyz on x
We started building Echo around 2 years ago in an attempt to try and change the market dynamics around crypto fundraising. Today, we're joining Coinbase, but the mission stays the same. We're gonna use the firepower of this behemoth to provide better opportunities to
@lbattlerhino @lbattlerhino on x
Up only back is dope but who will they have on, we don't have anywhere near the level of interesting main characters that we did last cycle
@cobie @cobie on x
@lBattleRhino but it is a good question. i thought maybe no guests but ledger has missed 3 yrs of crypto so nothing to talk about without guests lol * jeff + shoku * prediction mkts * light if he will do it again * maybe arthur hayes, never came on before * maybe some recent foun…
@cobie @cobie on x
Im too old to have a crypto podcast imma be out here looking like Gary V
@sshxbt @sshxbt on x
realizing that coinbase now has your echo KYC information [image]
@udiwertheimer Udi Wertheimer on x
bankless should list a $25,000,000 nft if someone buys it then have to shut down the podcast
@arkham @arkham on x
JUST IN: COINBASE.ETH BUYS UPONLY NFT FROM @COBIE FOR $25M USDC [image]
@cobie @cobie on x
@brian_armstrong ... ok burned the $25m. thanks for playing
@0xmert_ Mert on x
congrats to cobie this is what it's about trading is fun, investing is fun, but fundamentally, the best way to make money while creating value, having fun, and having a huge impact is by building things join crypto and build with us
@brian_armstrong Brian Armstrong on x
Coinbase has acquired @echodotxyz. Onchain capital formation is a vital and unique part of the crypto ecosystem. Excited to be adding Echo and Sonar to Coinbase to give our customers new token access opportunities. [video]
@emiliemc Emilie Choi on x
We had to do it.
@dogetoshi Steven on x
Coinbase's valuation increased by $425 million since announcing they bought UpOnly NFT for $25 million. [image]
@aggrnews @aggrnews on x
COINBASE.ETH ACQUIRES UPONLY NFT FROM COBIE FOR 25M USDC: ONCHAIN [image]
@loopifyyy @loopifyyy on x
btw the $25M uponly is obvs part of the $375M, so it's not $400M as people are miscalculating by adding both together
@wasserpest @wasserpest on x
cobie selling his company at the top. flawless trade -60% on everything NOW
@0xabhip Abhi on x
> Coinbase to acquire Echo for $375M. > Echo invests in early-stage crypto startups with notable angels. > Deal folds Echo into Coinbase Ventures to broaden early-stage pipeline. > Most of Echo's team to join Coinbase. > Goal is to strengthen Coinbase's path from incubation to [i…
@cryptoparadyme @cryptoparadyme on x
Coinbase probably bought Echo and are using UpOnly vibes to market it.
@cobie @cobie on x
Tbh anne hathaway is a really good cat woman actually
@0xljki @0xljki on x
So I guess Coinbase is acquiring Echo and this is just part of the deal as a joke (and another episode of UpOnly)
@zachxbt @zachxbt on x
@cobie @lBattleRhino Anyone who doesn't make appearances frequently. So many people have STDs from speaking to every podcast / media publication that contacts them. I think a lot of your most entertaining content came impromptu during / after major events vs scheduled episodes.
@chasedevens Chase on x
what if Coinbase acquires Echo and Cobie replaces Jesse as public face of Base
@beaniemaxi @beaniemaxi on x
8 episodes of Cobie's UpOnly podcast sold to Coinbase for $25 million. No sponsorship or content curation rights included.😲 [image]
@iamdcinvestor @iamdcinvestor on x
Coinbase isn't paying $3M+ per UpOnly podcast episode in a bear market we're going higher
@cobie @cobie on x
@udiWertheimer I've recently acquired $25m and would purchase this immediately
@loopifyyy @loopifyyy on x
can let Cobie dispel the rumour but imo i can see them being one of the only legit companies to pay a way higher multiple than a normal valuation uponly thing for extra marketing being a part of it makes sense i also don't think Cobie would sell for anything lower than that
@jack55750 Jack on x
Threadguy reacts to Coinbase paying $25M for 8 episodes of UpOnly “At $3M per episode, Cobie is making way more than Kai Cenat or speed. I don't know how much of a bigger sign you need to see how bullish the Crypto media space is” [video]
@cobie @cobie on x
💀
@heartereum @heartereum on x
wait a second... [image]
@loopifyyy @loopifyyy on x
what are the chances Base bought Echo? imo not crazy on second thought they spent 9 figs on acquiring it
@cometcalls @cometcalls on x
You mean to tell me the dapp that secured the Coinbase x UpOnly transaction Which Cobie holds 6 figures of Is worth only $2.5m market cap, and it's 200x just to get back to all time high? Wow. $FOLD [image]
@0xwenmoon WenMoon on x
Cobie the goat for posting about not being a Billionaire 2 days before actually becoming a billionaire 😆 ggwp ser

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