Coinbase Acquires Liquifi in Power Move to Control Crypto Token Lifecycle Management
Coinbase just made its boldest play yet for crypto dominance—snapping up Liquifi to own every stage of token management. From issuance to vesting, they’re building the rails for the next wave of digital assets. Wall Street’s legacy systems? Still figuring out how to process a Bitcoin ETF.
Why this matters: Token lifecycle management is the unsexy backbone of crypto’s infrastructure. By swallowing Liquifi whole, Coinbase isn’t just adding features—it’s cornering the market on how projects handle everything from investor distributions to tax headaches.
The subtext: While traditional finance struggles with spreadsheets and manual compliance, Coinbase is automating the entire capital stack. Liquifi’s tech gives them a direct pipeline to thousands of projects—and the fees that come with them. Another reminder that in crypto, the house always wins.
- Coinbase acquires Liquifi in fourth 2024 deal, expanding offerings.
- Liquifi raised $5 million, increasing token allocation and compliance.
- Coinbase follows a deal worth $2.9B, Deribit, and Binance’s launch.
Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, has acquired token management platform Liquifi in its fourth acquisition of 2024. The recent acquisition solidifies the company’s growing footing in crypto-infrastructure buildout and a broader strategy of building out a presence in each stage of a token’s existence.
Liquifi is also known to offer products such as token distributions, vesting schedules, and corresponding taxation tools. The platform is used by leading Web3 players such as OP Labs, Ethena, and Uniswap Foundation.
While revealed financial figures were not provided, the deal is a follow-on to Liquifi’s previously raised 2022 seed round of $5 million that was led by Dragonfly. The acquisition of Liquifi by the firm is another in a line of large-impact deals this year.
The company previously acquired ad-tech firm Spindl, privacy chain team Iron Fish, and made waves with a record-setting $2.9 billion buyout of derivatives exchange Deribit in May, the largest such deal in crypto history.
Coinbase Expands Closer to Binance Launchpad Model
The new direction of Coinbase brings it more in line with such rivals as Binance and OKX that support launchpad-style platforms to incubate and launch new cryptos.
Liquifi isn’t a launchpad per se, but it contains essential backend capabilities that allow Coinbase to operate further down in the token issuance and management process.
This transaction is consistent with the long-term ambition of Coinbase as a full-stack solution provider, covering all phases of a token’s lifecycle, throughout to distribution and regulation.
While Binance realizes revenue in tokens in early life cycles, the firm is now targeting value capture through matching stages, albeit with a regulation-first approach that is suitable to U.S. market conditions.
Stripe Strengthens Position with Major Crypto Acquisitions
Not only is Coinbase going aggressively to market, but so too is fintech titan Stripe, which made a massive MOVE early in the year when it acquired stablecoin firm Bridge for a whopping $1.1 billion before quietly purchasing crypto wallet company Privy back in June.
These developments are a sign of escalating institutional ambition to control crypto infrastructure as market regimes change and user appetite becomes more developed.
Being a U.S.-listed public company puts it in a special position in the market, especially as U.S. crypto policy is about to shift with new political leadership.
With Liquifi now as part of its portfolio, Coinbase is further augmenting a rich set of tools that have a long-term crypto adoption and operation maturity as a goal.
