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Crypto exchange Coinbase makes another key step toward transforming cryptocurrency finance with its acquisition of platform Echo, which helps on-chain communities invest together.
The $375 million deal aims to change how market players invest in crypto projects.
The official announcement highlights:
With this acquisition, we’re building a full-stack solution for crypto projects and investors, covering everything from launch to fundraising to secondary trading.
Notably, Cobie, known for advocating for fairness and transparency in digital assets, founded Echo to improve inclusivity.
The latest acquisition comes hours after CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed Coinbase spent $25 million to purchase Cobie’s UpOnly NFT.
Bringing back Up Only was just the warm up. We’ve acquired @echodotxyz, the leading onchain capital raising platform. → Joining builders with community capital → Giving investors access to new opportunities → Growing economic freedom worldwide
Echo has joined forces with Coinbase to unlock early-stage investing to all enthusiasts.
The duo aims to open the sector of on-chain fundraising to communities, not only corporations.
Coinbase breaks fundraising barriers
Raising money to fund new projects has been challenging in the digital assets market.
Ordinary investors rarely access early opportunities, while most founders struggle to attract serious investors.
Meanwhile, Coinbase has acquired Echo to fix this.
With Echo, projects can raise funds privately or publicly directly from the communities, using the Sonar tool.
The model connects builders seeking funding and cryptocurrency enthusiasts who trust in what they are creating.
The cryptocurrency exchange aims to unlock capital markets by making them more accessible, efficient, and transparent.
While it will prioritize token sales at first, Coinbase plans to expand Echo’s utility to cover real-world assets (RWAs) and tokenized securities in the coming times.
The Coinbase team says:
Integrating Echo’s tools will help us enable more direct community participation, joining projects with capital, entirely on-chain. While we’ll start with crypto token sales via Sonar, we plan to expand support to tokenized securities and real-world assets over time, leveraging Echo’s infrastructure.
Echo’s success as a fundraising platform
Echo is an on-chain startup with a track record of success.
For instance, it has facilitated nearly 300 deals, helping projects raise more than $200 million since its launch.
Moreover, its new and innovative product Sonar has seen notable traction.
Sonar has powered multiple successful token sales, including the thriving Plasma’s XPL.
Echo stands out due to its community-driven approach.
It allows projects and their supporters to directly connect, alleviating the need for using traditional venture funding.
That creates the inclusivity and transparency, which aligns with Coinbase’s ethos.
Coinbase expands on its full-stack mission
Echo’s purchase comes shortly after Coinbase added Liquifi to its ecosystem to limit table management and simplify token creation.
The two acquisitions boost the exchange’s offering by creating a robust pipeline for cryptocurrency startups.
Projects now have everything, from token creation to fundraising and exchange listing. The team highlighted:
While Liquifi strengthened our ability to support builders at the start of their journey, Echo extends that support into fundraising.
That establishes Coinbase as a one-stop platform for investors and builders, supporting early-stage projects to take off.
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