Coinbase Global has acquired Echo, a leading onchain capital formation platform, for approximately $375 million, significantly expanding the cryptocurrency exchange’s efforts to democratize access to private and public token sales.
The acquisition, Coinbase’s eighth this year, positions the company as a more comprehensive service for token issuers, aiming to streamline fundraising and investment opportunities for crypto communities and individual investors. The transaction was financed through a combination of cash and stock.
Echo, founded by influential crypto trader Jordan Fish, known as Cobie, enables communities to collectively invest in emerging projects and offers flexible capitalization table options for founders. Since its launch last year, the platform has facilitated over $200 million in fundraising across some 300 deals.
One of Echo’s key offerings is Sonar, a tool for self-hosted public token sales. Coinbase plans to integrate Sonar and other Echo tools into its existing product suite.
Shan Aggarwal, Coinbase’s head of business development, emphasized the strategic imperative, stating, “Our goal is to make capital markets more open and accessible.”
The exchange noted in a blog post that while founders often struggle to raise capital and individual investors lack opportunities in private token sales, Echo addresses these challenges by allowing projects to raise funds directly from their communities.
Echo will initially maintain its brand and operate independently, though its integration with Coinbase is expected to unfold over time. Future plans include expanding support for initial token sales and potentially incorporating tokenized securities and real-world assets.
The acquisition comes as Coinbase, with a market capitalization of around $90 billion, has seen its shares rise by 40% this year, reflecting a broader resurgence in blockchain innovation. The move is expected to simplify the process for token issuers from launch and fundraising through secondary trading.
Cobie confirmed the acquisition on X, reflecting on the journey: “When I started building Echo 2 years ago, I knew I had a 95% chance of failing […] but here we are: today Coinbase bought Echo for ~$375M.”
The deal underscores growing momentum in decentralized capital formation and could catalyze further consolidation within the crypto sector. A specific closing date for the acquisition has not been disclosed, remaining subject to standard purchase price adjustments.