Coinbase is deepening its push into decentralized finance with the acquisition of Echo, an on-chain capital formation platform founded by crypto veteran Cobie, in a deal reportedly valued at around $375 million.
The acquisition marks a major step in Coinbase’s effort to create a comprehensive, end-to-end ecosystem for digital asset issuance, fundraising, and trading, one that merges traditional financial structure with the transparency and accessibility of blockchain.
Founded to democratize early-stage investing, Echo enables startups to raise capital directly from their communities, either through private investment groups or public token sales on its Sonar platform. Since its launch, Echo has facilitated over $200 million across roughly 300 deals, helping bridge the gap between founders and investors seeking on-chain fundraising opportunities.
Coinbase said the integration of Echo’s infrastructure will simplify and expand access to fundraising, giving projects new tools to launch and manage token sales directly on-chain. The Sonar platform will remain operational under the Echo brand, with its features integrated into Coinbase’s broader ecosystem over time.
Echo’s technology will also support Coinbase’s plans to move beyond crypto-native assets — extending its framework to include tokenized securities and real-world assets, opening the door to broader participation in private and alternative markets.
“With Echo, we’re creating more accessible, efficient, and transparent capital markets,” Coinbase said. “Founders will gain easier access to capital, while investors will be able to participate in opportunities that were previously out of reach.”
The acquisition complements Coinbase’s earlier purchase of Liquifi, which helps streamline token creation and cap table management. Together, the two integrations enable Coinbase to offer a “full-stack” fundraising and trading solution, supporting projects from launch through to secondary market trading and custody.
For founders, the move means simpler, community-driven fundraising tools and direct access to investors. For traders and investors, it represents new opportunities in early-stage investing
By
Staff Writer
