Coinbase has acquired Echo, an on-chain capital raising platform founded by Cobie, a crypto OG and long-time advocate for community-driven investing, in a deal valued at $375 million. The move signals a significant push by the exchange to integrate more crypto-native venture and investment opportunities directly into its ecosystem.

The acquisition will incorporate Echo's tools for facilitating token sales, connecting projects and builders with community capital. This provides Coinbase’s user base with access to early-stage investments that have traditionally been difficult to access.

Echo has already made significant progress in democratizing private markets, facilitating over $200 million in funding across roughly 300 completed deals since launch. Its new self-hosted public token sale platform, Sonar, is also gaining traction—most notably powering Plasma’s recent XPL token sale.

The deal also reportedly includes the popular "Up Only" podcast and brand associated with Cobie. This acquisition highlights a broader trend of major centralized players expanding their services to include tools for on-chain capital formation, blurring the lines between exchanges and venture platforms.

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https://www.coinbase.com/en-ca/blog/coinbase-acquires-echo-unlocking-the-future-of-onchain-capital-formation