The Coinbase platform is making a series of strategic acquisitions to consolidate its position in the current development of the cryptocurrency sector. The latest transactions to date: the Echo fundraising platform… and Cobie’s UpOnly NFT.
Coinbase acquires the Echo fundraising platform
Since its IPO in 2021, the cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase has occupied a unique position in the evolution of the cryptocurrency sector associated with traditional finance. This strategy has been accompanied by strategic acquisitions, as well as ongoing negotiations regarding the acquisition of the stablecoin startup BVNK.
At the same time, other mergers and acquisitions are taking place, such as the confirmed acquisition of “the leading blockchain fundraising platform” Echo for $375 million. The company was founded by renowned crypto investor and podcast host Cobie, who is very active on the X network.
We started developing Echo about two years ago with the goal of trying to change the market dynamics around cryptocurrency fundraising. Today, we are joining Coinbase, but the mission remains the same.
Echo
The stated goal is to make fundraising more community-driven, with operations that connect project developers directly with individual investors without necessarily having to go through traditional venture capital firms, using private sales or self-hosted public token sales operated with its flagship product, Sonar.
Should we see this as the promise of new Initial Coin Offerings (ISO) 2.0 in a now favorable regulatory environment?
But also a $25 million “UpOnly” NFT
But this transaction does not stop there, if we are to believe the rumor recently confirmed by Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong. Indeed, it seems that alongside the acquisition of Echo, a very special NFT was also purchased.
This is in fact a non-fungible token (NFT) whose purpose is to restart Cobie’s “UpOnly” podcast, which was very popular during the 2021 bull market. To do this, it had to be purchased—for a fixed price of $25 million—and then destroyed using a burn procedure to trigger its realization.
The rumors are true, we bought the NFT. UpOnly is back.
Cobie
It seems important to note that the highest bid for this NFT on the Opensea platform was set at $18,500 (4.7 ETH) before Coinbase came along and bought it… for $25 million.
