Coinbase launches a token sales platform, how do investors and competitors view it?

Core Viewpoint

2025-11-19 20:20:00

Collection

The current Trump administration is one of the most supportive of cryptocurrency in American history, indicating that the door for ICOs may reopen.

Author: Yogita Khatri, The Block

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Last month, Coinbase acquired the angel investment platform Echo, founded by well-known crypto trader Jordan "Cobie" Fish, for approximately $375 million. Following this, last week, Coinbase launched its own public token sale platform aimed primarily at retail users in the United States. This series of actions clearly indicates a shift in Coinbase's business strategy. I spoke with Coinbase, competing platforms, venture capital firms, and founders to delve into the driving forces behind this shift and the future direction.

Coinbase's Timing: Why Now?

Coinbase's move raises an obvious question: Why now? The company recently told me that they believe the current Trump administration (note: this should refer to the Biden administration; the original text may be incorrect) is one of the most crypto-friendly governments in U.S. history, suggesting that the door for ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) may be reopening, a door that has been nearly closed since the regulatory storm of 2017-18. The regulatory environment has indeed changed. In July of this year, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that he had asked staff to propose "applicability disclosures, exemptions, and safe harbor" recommendations for ICOs, airdrops, and network rewards. This stands in stark contrast to the SEC's post-2017 approach, which viewed most ICOs as unregistered securities and forced many projects to shut down or settle.

Other signals also indicate that regulatory clarity is increasing. CoinList President Scott Keto mentioned the SEC's recent "No-Action Letter" regarding DoubleZero, which indicated that its 2Z token is not a security—he described this as an unprecedented phenomenon. DoubleZero recently conducted a public sale on CoinList, marking the first time the platform has opened sales to U.S. accredited investors since 2019. Keto added that new legislation currently advancing in Congress (including the Clarity Act Crypto Market Structure Bill) provides more confidence for companies like Coinbase, especially in reaching the U.S. retail market. Echo previously served only U.S. accredited investors, which may also be one reason Coinbase launched a platform for retail users.

Keto stated that this regulatory shift benefits all token sale platforms, not just Coinbase. When asked whether CoinList would allow U.S. retail users to participate, he said the final decision lies with the issuer: "During (former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's) era, it wasn't that we couldn't offer token sales to Americans (even accredited investors), but rather that the project teams felt the risks were too high." He said, "If the project teams want to offer their tokens to U.S. retail users, we can support that."

Different Strategies Among Competitors

Other competing platforms have also seen the same regulatory opportunity but have taken different paths. Legion co-founder Matt O'Connor stated that the platform plans to serve the U.S. retail market as well and believes that under the updated policy framework, "securities laws should not apply to most tokens." In contrast, BuidlPad founder Erick Zhang indicated that he still does not plan to target U.S. users.

However, the driving force behind this change is not solely regulatory factors. Coinbase's trading department head Scott Shapiro stated that their goal is to support projects "at every stage of their lifecycle"—from early funding with the Echo team, to crypto-native public sales with Echo Sonar, to broad distribution to Coinbase's global retail users. Shapiro's vision is to provide a full-stack, founder-friendly path from project inception to liquidity realization, focusing not only on quick sales but also on "the long-term health of the project."

Vertical Integration and Competitive Advantage

Framework Ventures partner Brandon Potts stated, Coinbase is simply trying to take control of more of the user journey, as users increasingly want to participate earlier, while issuers want to find compliant and more trustworthy platforms. Robot Ventures partner Anirudh Pai referred to this as vertical integration: if Coinbase wants to dominate centralized trading and on-chain economies through Base, it needs a direct token distribution channel.

Some founders interpreted this change from a competitive perspective. Superfluid co-founder and CEO Francesco Renzi stated that token issuance remains one of the highest volume moments for any exchange, and Coinbase's conservative first-day listing strategy means it has "missed out" on this market. idOS co-founder Lluis Bardet Alvarez pointed out that with the rise of decentralized exchange volumes and the decline in on-chain fees, centralized exchanges face an "innovator's dilemma." He stated, "Coinbase is exploring new crypto products that won't directly cannibalize its core product (centralized exchange) while attracting users who are more inclined toward decentralization."

What Does Coinbase's New Move Mean for Competitors?

Most competitors view Coinbase's acquisition of Echo and the launch of its public token sale platform as a form of recognition, while also bringing some competitive pressure. CoinList President Scott Keto stated that this proves the regulatory environment has finally shifted enough for major platforms to re-enter the U.S. token issuance space—a space that many platforms have avoided for years. He added that CoinList is currently preparing a more decentralized sales mechanism to provide projects with alternatives to centralized platforms.

Keto said, "We are moving in another direction because I believe this is what issuers and users will ultimately care about. Issuers want users to stay on their own chains and within their applications. CoinList is committed to and ready to integrate these networks. We are about to finalize some similar collaborations."

Legion co-founder Matt O'Connor stated that while Coinbase's actions have increased some competition, they have not squeezed out other platforms' survival space. He stated that Legion positions itself more like an underwriter for ICOs rather than just a distribution channel—working closely with project teams, focusing on structural design, compliance, and marketing strategies. He said, "Tokenization is a powerful technology, and its potential market is not limited to a few altcoins but aims to bring all assets and investment opportunities on-chain. This is redefining the IPO (Initial Public Offering). That's why we refer to Legion as the first ICO underwriter."

BuidlPad founder Erick Zhang stated that his platform will continue to focus on non-U.S. markets and adopt a "highly selective and high-engagement" model, spending months with project teams to cultivate communities and conduct pre-launch marketing activities. He said, "This means we cannot frequently conduct token issuances—but this is the path we have chosen."

Most of the people I spoke with believe that Coinbase may win some collaborations with high-quality projects, but not all. They indicated that platforms offering more "degen" (i.e., high-risk, high-speculative) issuance mechanisms, looser compliance requirements, or more favorable terms for founders will still hold a place in the competition for strong projects. Robot Ventures partner Anirudh Pai stated, "Some platforms may build their brands around memecoins and riskier, more speculative tokens."

Can Coinbase Lead a New Wave of ICOs?

Coinbase stated that its goal is to conduct a token issuance once a month, but trading department head Scott Shapiro emphasized that this is not a "hard rule"; they focus more on quality than quantity. Although the pace of high-quality project issuances has been slow this year, many believe that as teams that previously delayed their issuances begin to take action, significant growth may be seen next year.

Framework Ventures partner Brandon Potts stated, "There are many high-quality projects currently backlogged; their delays in issuance are not due to a lack of confidence but rather because the options for issuance scenarios are limited and unstable."

Others anticipate that with Coinbase's entry, market activity will increase—though not to the scale of the ICO frenzy seen in 2017. Teams will leverage clearer rules and the reopening of the U.S. retail market to drive growth. Legion co-founder Matt O'Connor stated, "After Coinbase announced this news, we received more proactive outreach from top projects and institutional partners. The ICO craze is back, but it has evolved from the 2017 model into a more sustainable and resilient form."

EV3 Ventures' research head and investor Vinayak Kurup also agreed: "As an industry, we have made significant progress since the early ICO days." He added that the next phase will be driven by fundamentals rather than hype. As institutional capital gradually enters the on-chain space, cryptocurrencies as an asset class are being taken more seriously. He stated, "The era of pure speculation in the market, I believe, has become a thing of the past."