What happened?
Coinbase bought Echo, the on-chain fundraising platform built by Cobie, for about $375 million and plans to keep Echo as a standalone brand while folding its Sonar product into Coinbase’s ecosystem. Echo has already helped projects raise over $200 million across more than 300 deals and runs public token sales on chains like Base, Solana, and Cardano. Coinbase says the acquisition expands its push to offer full‑stack crypto infrastructure, including tokenized securities and real‑world assets.
Who does this affect?
Crypto founders and early-stage projects get a simpler, more direct way to raise money from their communities instead of relying only on VCs. Retail investors could see broader access to early token sales through Coinbase’s large, verified user base. Launchpads, fundraising platforms, regulators, and institutional players will all feel the impact as a major exchange ties fundraising tools to a regulated platform.
Why does this matter?
This could reignite public token sales in a more regulated and transparent form, bringing bigger capital flows into crypto projects and widening where early funding comes from. If Coinbase becomes a go‑to gateway for on‑chain fundraising, it could shift power away from traditional VCs, boost liquidity and secondary trading, and lift valuations for projects that attract retail demand. At the same time, greater visibility and regulatory scrutiny mean token launches could spark strong market moves — lifting some tokens on hype while increasing compliance costs across the sector.