Coinbase Buys Echo for $375 Million, Signaling a Return to On-Chain Fundraising

Acquisition Marks Coinbase’s Boldest Step Toward Rebuilding the Crypto Capital Market Stack

TL;DR:

• Coinbase acquires Echo for around $375 million in cash and stock to expand its on-chain fundraising capabilities.
• Echo, co-founded by crypto figure Cobie, has facilitated $200 million in funding across roughly 300 deals since 2024.
• The deal positions Coinbase to integrate community-driven token sales, potentially reviving a regulated version of the ICO-era.

Coinbase has made a decisive push deeper into the on-chain fundraising business, agreeing to acquire the token-sale platform Echo for roughly $375 million, a mix of cash and stock, according to statements released on October 21, 2025. The move expands Coinbase’s reach beyond trading and custody into primary capital formation, a segment the company believes will redefine how crypto projects raise money and how investors gain early access to digital assets.

Echo, founded less than two years ago by well-known crypto personality Jordan Fish, better known as Cobie, built its reputation as a gateway for both private and public token sales. Its flagship product, Sonar, allows startups to raise capital directly from their communities without intermediaries. Since launch, Echo has reportedly helped raise over $200 million across about 300 deals, becoming one of the fastest-growing fundraising platforms in the space. Cobie confirmed the sale on social media, writing, “I certainly didn’t think Echo would be sold to Coinbase, but here we are. The job’s not finished. Onwards.”

Coinbase Chief Business Officer Shan Aggarwal described the acquisition as part of a plan to “rebuild the capital market stack from end to end,” saying it gives Coinbase the components needed to provide “all of those different pieces within the Coinbase product suite.” The company aims to merge Echo’s technology into its existing infrastructure, starting with token sales and progressing toward on-chain tokenized securities and real-world asset (RWA) offerings. In Coinbase’s announcement, the company said it wants to make it “easier for companies to raise funds and grow, and give the community early access to unique investment opportunities.”

Echo will continue to operate as a standalone platform under Coinbase for now, while its Sonar system becomes the foundation for on-chain capital formation inside the Coinbase ecosystem. The acquisition follows Coinbase’s earlier purchase of Liquifi, a token-creation and equity-management platform, signaling a strategy to build a full-stack pipeline—from token creation to fundraising, listing, and trading. Together, these deals suggest Coinbase is positioning itself as a one-stop venue for digital-asset lifecycle management rather than a conventional exchange.

Market observers view the purchase as a potential spark for the return of public token sales reminiscent of the ICO boom, but under a more regulated and transparent framework. The transaction also underscores a broader trend among major exchanges seeking to expand into early-stage financing after years of focusing on trading and custody. Coinbase’s blog called the acquisition “a step toward accessible, efficient, and transparent capital markets,” while industry analysts noted that the deal reflects a wider M&A wave sweeping through crypto as regulatory clarity improves and competition for infrastructure intensifies.

Echo’s rise has been rapid. The platform launched around early 2024, quickly attracting both institutional and retail users drawn to its open participation model and simplified fundraising tools. Reports suggest Echo’s early community rounds invested $10 million into startups within its first few months. By late 2025, its metrics—hundreds of deals and hundreds of millions in raised capital—made it an appealing acquisition target. For Coinbase, which now commands a market valuation near $90 billion with shares up roughly 40 percent year-to-date, the purchase extends its strategic pivot toward building an integrated on-chain financial ecosystem.

The deal’s broader implications reach beyond Coinbase. Exchanges appear to be evolving into capital-markets platforms, enabling projects to raise funds directly from users under regulated conditions. While the revival of public token sales may invite renewed scrutiny from regulators, the structure of an exchange-integrated fundraising model could deliver both oversight and accessibility. Coinbase’s latest move positions it to define that balance—bringing community-based capital formation back into the mainstream of crypto finance, but this time with compliance, transparency, and scale baked in.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.