Crypto exchange Coinbase has spent $25 million to acquire and burn a non-fungible token (NFT) designed to revive the once popular crypto podcast called UpOnly.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed that the “rumors are true” on Tuesday, adding that the firm bought the NFT to bring back the UpOnly podcast for a new season.
Onchain data from Arkham Intelligence also confirmed that Coinbase sent $25 million USDC to a wallet controlled by podcast host and crypto influencer Jordan Fish, also known as ‘Cobie.’
Podcast History and Context
The original podcast was popular during the 2021 bull market and featured interviews with prominent crypto figures. It was notably sponsored by FTX before the exchange collapsed.
UpOnly’s last episode was uploaded to YouTube in December 2022, shortly after the FTX collapse. In May, Cobie said, “I am no longer the decision maker on if Up Only returns.”
“The power is now stored within this NFT that I just minted. When the NFT is burned, the podcast will restart.”
The NFT was listed on OpenSea, but the highest offer bid was just 4.7 ETH, or around $18,500, indicating Coinbase appears to have vastly overpaid for it.
The NFT now ranks as the fifth most expensive NFTs sold in crypto’s history. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase but did not receive an immediate response.
Host's Reaction and Podcast Description
‘Unc Only’ Jokes Cobie
“Ah man wtf,” Cobie responded on X, stating that it has been three years since UpOnly 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,” he added.
“Time to go live Unc,” replied Coinbase.
UpOnly describes itself as a podcast “prioritizing entertainment before alpha but mostly there is neither.”
Impact on Memecoins
Memecoins Pump and Dump
As the news broke, a memecoin called UPONLY on the Coinbase layer-2 network Base skyrocketed 7,900% before dumping, while the COBIE memecoin on Base exploded 5,800%, according to DEXscreener.
A Solana-based memecoin with the same UPONLY ticker pumped around 250% at the same time.
“An UPONLY memecoin went to $50M in 2024 on Solana, but UpOnlyTV wasn’t resumed. Now that Coinbase spent $25M on resuming UpOnly, let’s send a Base memecoin to $500M,” said crypto investor ‘Rune.’