With a valuation around $100 billion, it seems surprising that a company like Coinbase needs to acquire additional businesses for growth. Yet, with $10 billion in available cash, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. continues to pursue the next significant opportunity in the industry.
Coinbase has actively invested in 2025, reportedly acquiring the cryptocurrency options trading platform Deribit for $2.9 billion in a cash-and-stock deal in August.
In October, it made headlines again with its $375 million acquisition of the onchain capital raising platform, Echo. The crypto community was abuzz, thanks in part to strategic marketing that involved Echo’s founder and influencer Cobie, who secured an extra $25 million from Coinbase to restart his long-idle UpOnly podcast.
While the headlines illustrate lucrative partnerships between Coinbase and startup founders, there is a great deal of research, intent, and conviction that informs these high-stakes moves.
So how does @Coinbase, a $100B company with $10B of cash on hand, decide what companies to invest in?
Coinbase has made 40+ acquisitions in recent years, most recently forking out $375 to acquire @echodotxyz.
Here’s the secret playbook for Coinbase’ merger and acquisition… pic.twitter.com/PwgOeJ5Uuf
— Gareth Jenkinson (@gazza_jenks) October 28, 2025
To understand how Coinbase is allocating billions to select companies, Cointelegraph interviewed Aklil Ibbsa, Coinbase’s head of corporate development and M&A, during its daily “Chain Reaction” livestream show on X.
Related: Coinbase splurges $25M to reboot a podcast from the last bull market
Power law distribution
Ibssa has been at the forefront of global corporate development at Coinbase since 2019 and has played a crucial role in all of the company’s significant acquisitions.
“In many ways, it follows a power law distribution. When considering growth for Coinbase or any potential target you’re evaluating, you’ll take plenty of shots on goal. Not every effort is going to be successful, but the ones that succeed can pay for the entire portfolio,” Ibssa explained.
Related: Coinbase bets $375M that onchain ICO crowdfunding is crypto’s next wave
Ibssa used mergers and acquisitions as a prime illustration of this strategy. He likened their actions to an “ESPN highlight” reel, noting that while there have been successful ventures, there have also been less favorable outcomes over the past six years.
He recalled several key deals, including Coinbase’s reported $41 million purchase of Tagomi, which laid the groundwork for Coinbase Prime.
“Coinbase Prime, in our institutional business, now represents a significant portion of our revenue, so I would place that on the ESPN highlight reel.”
Ibssa also mentioned the 2019 acquisition of Xapo’s institutional businesses, referring to its impact as “single-handedly making us the largest crypto custodian globally at the time.”
The $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit stands as Coinbase’s most substantial deal in 2025, with Ibssa noting that post-close, the acquisition has demonstrated “exceptionally strong financial performance.”
“Who wouldn’t want to be acquired by Coinbase?”
“What does the acquisition landscape look like? Coinbase is a nearly $100 billion company with close to $10 billion in cash, so who wouldn’t want to be acquired by Coinbase?” Ibssa mused.
He described the environment as “very fast-paced,” with multiple M&A opportunities on his desk at any moment. The selection process for potential deals has been influenced by opportunities aligning with Coinbase’s overall product strategy.
“We have a clear strategy and direction for our business, and M&A serves as a tool to help us reach our goals more efficiently.”
Coinbase’s overarching strategy adheres to this principle: Identify and support companies, products, and services that drive its objective of becoming an “everything exchange.”
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