Coinbase has added another layer to its crypto-market empire with the $375 million acquisition of Echo, a platform that lets startups raise funds directly onchain.
Coinbase Buys Fundraising Platform Echo in $375mn Bid to Build Onchain Capital Markets
21 October 2025 - 13:02 CEST
Owning the issuance layer
Founded last year by veteran trader Jordan “Cobie” Fish, Echo has hosted more than $200 million in token-based raises and recently launched Sonar, a tool for public token sales conducted entirely onchain.
Coinbase will pay in a mix of cash and stock. The company said the move forms part of its ambition to create a “full-stack” digital-capital-markets platform, allowing issuers to raise funds, list tokens, and access liquidity inside the same ecosystem.
Coinbase’s chief business officer Shan Aggarwal said, “With this acquisition, we’re building a full-stack solution for crypto projects and investors, covering everything from launch to fundraising to secondary trading."
The everything exchange
The purchase extends Coinbase’s acquisition spree as it shifts from retail brokerage to vertically integrated market operator. Benefitting from a friendlier policy climate under President Trump, the firm has moved to consolidate core infrastructure across issuance, trading, custody, and asset management.
Deals announced or completed this year include:
- Deribit (derivatives exchange) $2.9 billion
- Liquifi (Token management) $210 million
- Echo (Fundraising) $375 million
- CoinDCX (Retail exchange in India) Undisclosed
- Iron Fish (Privacy tech) Undisclosed
- One River Digital (Asset Management) Undisclosed
The exchange becomes the market
With Echo under its wing, Coinbase is edging toward a model that more closely resembles Nasdaq meets Goldman Sachs than a conventional crypto exchange - an issuer, venue, and custodian rolled into one.
The deal could streamline startups' access to global investors through a regulated, pre-vetted channel. For regulators, it blurs the boundary between market participants and market infrastructure.
Coinbase is betting that crypto's next phase will be fully onchain capital formation, not just trading, and that it can own every layer of that process before anyone else does.
