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22 October 2025

Coinbase Bets Big On UpOnly And Echo Revival

Brian Armstrong’s $25 million NFT burn revives UpOnly podcast as Coinbase acquires Echo, signaling a new era of blockchain-powered media and capital markets.

In a move that’s left the crypto world buzzing, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has pulled off one of the most talked-about stunts in recent blockchain history: he spent a staggering $25 million to acquire and burn a satirical NFT, reviving the much-loved UpOnly podcast, and followed it up with the blockbuster $375 million acquisition of Echo, a leading crypto investment platform founded by the podcast’s host, Jordan “Cobie” Fish. It’s a blend of nostalgia, media innovation, and big-money bets that’s got everyone—from seasoned traders to casual fans—asking: what exactly is Coinbase up to?

The saga began in May 2025, when Cobie minted an NFT titled “ADMISSION: 1 SEASON OF UP ONLY TV.” At the time, it was a tongue-in-cheek jab at the relentless demands for the return of UpOnly, a podcast that had become a staple during the 2021 bull run with its candid interviews and unfiltered takes on crypto’s hottest topics. The NFT included a playful but binding clause: if anyone burned it, Cobie and his co-host LedgerStatus would be contractually obligated to produce eight new episodes. The token’s message was clear—burn it if you want the show back, otherwise, let him be.

But Armstrong saw more than just a joke. Backed by Coinbase, he paid the full $25 million price in USDC, as verified by on-chain data, and promptly burned the NFT. On October 20, 2025, Armstrong confirmed the transaction on X (formerly Twitter), posting, “The rumors are true, we bought the NFT. @UpOnlyTV is coming back.” The terms of the NFT now required Cobie and LedgerStatus to deliver a fresh season of UpOnly, with the first episode slated to air on October 21, 2025—the same date the show ended in 2022.

The news sent shockwaves through the crypto community. Fans who remembered UpOnly’s heyday were ecstatic. Crypto researcher Aylo summed up the mood, posting, “UpOnly spawned some of the best and funniest crypto lore. Pretty sure every single active person on here will be tuning in.” Even Cobie couldn’t resist poking fun at his own predicament, joking, “It has been 3 years since up only ended. I was in my 20s when it started, now I have grey hair. We will rename it Unc Only and I will spend $25m on cosmetic surgery. See ya soon.”

Still, Cobie was quick to temper expectations. While the show’s return is guaranteed, he warned that recapturing the magic of 2021 would be no easy feat. Booking compelling guests could be a challenge, though he hinted at possible appearances by Arthur Hayes and other well-known crypto figures. The underlying message: don’t expect a carbon copy of the past, but do expect something new and, perhaps, just as entertaining.

The impact of Armstrong’s NFT burn wasn’t limited to media headlines. In typical crypto fashion, the announcement triggered a frenzy of speculative trading in UpOnly-themed memecoins. A Base-based UPONLY token skyrocketed 7,900% before crashing just as quickly. The COBIE token spiked 5,800% on a wave of short-term hype, and a Solana-based UPONLY coin jumped 250% before tumbling. None of these tokens are officially linked to the podcast, but their wild swings are a familiar sight in an industry where hype often outpaces fundamentals. Some online communities even joked about pushing these tokens to a $500 million market cap, but most seasoned traders saw through the fleeting excitement.

Yet the NFT spectacle was just the appetizer. The real main course came with Coinbase’s acquisition of Echo, Cobie’s on-chain capital-raising platform, for approximately $375 million in cash and stock. As reported by The Block and Decrypt, this deal marks Coinbase’s eighth acquisition of the year and signals a strategic pivot toward blockchain-powered media and creator ecosystems. Echo, which has helped raise over $140 million from more than 9,000 individuals across 340 deals, is widely regarded as the top on-chain platform for initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other capital-raising activities.

Coinbase plans to integrate Echo’s public token sale product, Sonar, into its broader ecosystem, supporting a wider range of crypto token sales and eventually expanding into tokenized securities and real-world assets (RWAs). In their acquisition post, Coinbase explained, “The ‘why’ is simple. We want to create more accessible, efficient, and transparent capital markets.”

Cobie, reflecting on Echo’s journey, shared his own surprise at the outcome: “When I started building Echo 2 years ago, I knew it had 95% chance of failing. To be honest, I couldn’t really imagine any other outcome, but I thought at least it may be a noble failure worth attempting. I certainly didn’t think Echo would be sold to Coinbase, but, here we are: today Coinbase bought Echo for ~$375m.”

For the broader crypto economy, this feels like a major win. Builders now have easier access to capital and community through fundraising tools, while investors gain new opportunities to back early-stage crypto projects—and soon, tokenized securities and RWAs. As Morning Minute’s Tyler Warner put it, “Builders will have easier access to capital and community via fundraising tools. Investors will also have new opportunities to invest in early-stage crypto products (and soon, tokenized securities and RWAs). Coinbase wins here as well, as they continue to expand beyond an initial CEX model.”

The acquisition also highlights Coinbase’s ambitions to move beyond its origins as a centralized exchange (CEX) and become a key player in the rapidly evolving world of blockchain-powered media and creator contracts. By turning a satirical NFT into a $25 million marketing masterstroke and acquiring a platform like Echo, Armstrong is betting that the future of crypto lies at the intersection of technology, content, and community engagement.

Meanwhile, the broader crypto landscape continues to shift. As The Block noted, SpaceX recently moved $268.5 million worth of bitcoin—their largest transaction in years—while Tether’s USDT stablecoin surpassed 500 million users. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, speaking at the central bank’s Payments Innovation Conference, remarked that distributed ledgers and crypto are “increasingly being woven into the fabric of the payment and financial systems.” It’s a new era for crypto, and Coinbase seems determined to be at its forefront.

In the end, Armstrong’s bold moves have done more than just reignite crypto nostalgia—they’ve redefined what’s possible when blockchain technology, media, and big personalities collide. Whether UpOnly’s return lives up to the hype or not, one thing’s for sure: the crypto world will be watching.