With an estimated value of $100 billion, it’s hard to believe that a company like Coinbase needs to acquire new businesses to grow. But with $10 billion in cash on hand, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange continues to look for the next big opportunity in the space.
Coinbase isn’t shying away from writing checks in 2025. The exchange reportedly paid $2.9 billion in cash and stock to acquire crypto options trading platform Deribit in August.
It then made headlines in October when it acquired on-chain capital raising platform Echo for $375 million. Crypto Twitter made headlines thanks to a genius marketing move involving Echo founder and influencer Cobie. Cobie received an additional $25 million from Coinbase to restart his long-dormant UpOnly podcast.
While the headlines tell the story of a wealth-building handshake between the founders of Coinbase and unicorns, there is significant intent, research, and belief behind these multi-million dollar moves.
So how @Coinbasea $100 billion company with $10 billion in cash on hand would decide which companies to invest in?
Coinbase has made over 40 acquisitions in recent years, most recently spending $375 on an acquisition. @echodotxyz.
Here’s Coinbase’s secret strategy for mergers and acquisitions… pic.twitter.com/PwgOeJ5Uuf
— Gareth Jenkinson (@gazza_jenks) October 28, 2025
Cointelegraph spoke with Acryl Ibusa, Coinbase’s head of corporate development and M&A, on X’s daily livestream show “Chain Reaction” to uncover how Coinbase invests billions of dollars in specific companies.
Related: Coinbase spends $25 million to revive Last Bull Market podcast
power law distribution
Mr. Ibsa has been leading global corporate development at Coinbase since 2019 and has been closely involved in all of the company’s major acquisitions.
“In many ways, it’s a power law distribution. If you’re thinking about how to continue to grow Coinbase and how to grow the potential acquirers that you’re working on, you’re going to end up with a lot of shots on goal. Not all will be great shots on goal, but the winners will actually start paying for the rest of your portfolio,” Ibusa said.
Related: Coinbase bets $375 million that on-chain ICO crowdfunding is the next wave of cryptocurrencies
Mr. Ibsa highlighted mergers and acquisitions as a prime example of this approach. The company, which describes its moves like an “ESPN Highlights” reel, has made some successful and some not-so-successful business deals over the past six years.
Ibsa said he still has several deals in mind, including Coinbase’s reported $41 million deal with Tagomi. This became the basis for Coinbase Prime.
“Coinbase Prime in our institutional business is now a significant portion of our revenue, so we want to put it on ESPN’s highlight reel.”
Ibsa also highlighted the company’s 2019 agreement to acquire Xapo’s institutional business. He described the impact of that transaction as “making us the single largest cryptocurrency custodian on the planet at the time.”
The exchange’s $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit is by far the largest in 2025, and Ivsa said after the deal closed that it demonstrated “very strong financial performance.”
“Who wouldn’t want to be acquired by Coinbase?”
“What does the desk look like? Coinbase is a nearly $100 billion company with nearly $10 billion in cash. So who wouldn’t want to be acquired by Coinbase?” Ibsa said.
He describes the job as “very fast-paced,” with multiple potential M&A deals piling up on his desk at any given time. Decisions about the types of deals we pursue are based on opportunities that can be an extension of Coinbase’s overall product strategy.
“We have a very clear strategy and direction for our business, and M&A is just a tool to help us get there faster.”
Coinbase’s overall strategy follows a tenet of identifying and supporting companies, products, and services that accelerate our goal of becoming “the exchange for everything.”
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