First deal closes on crypto angel investing platform Echo, raising $300,000 for Ethena

Deals • March 31, 2024, 4:46PM EDT

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Quick Take

The first deal has closed on Echo, a new angel investment platform currently in beta that was created by crypto trader Jordan Fish, best known by his alias Cobie.
The deal, spearheaded by crypto trader Ser Shokunin, allowed Echo users to invest in synthetic dollar protocol Ethena at similar terms as large VCs.

Echo, the new platform aiming to give aspiring angel investors access to the same deals as larger and more established venture capitalists, is currently operating in an invite-only beta mode.

However, it took only three hours for Echo's users to close its first deal: a $300,000 investment in "synthetic dollar" protocol Ethena. Furthermore, while a recent private sale reportedly valued Ethena at $600 million in Fully Diluted Value (FDV), deal participants were able to buy in at Ethena's previous $300 million valuation, minus a 5% carry fee for the Echo platform.

The deal was offered by crypto trader Ser Shokunin, who confirmed the details to The Block, alongside BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, his family office Maelstrom, and VC firm Dragonfly. As the platform's inaugural deal, the collective is taking no additional management or carry fee, though future Echo deals will likely experiment with different fee structures.

The offer was open to the around 580 investors in Shokunin's group; Echo users are able to create invite-only groups and restrict deal access to certain members. There are around twenty groups on the platform so far.

The deal's closure comes days ahead of Ethena's latest planned airdrop of 750 million ENA tokens, representing 5% of the token's total supply. The airdrop is scheduled to commence on April 2, reflecting activity from users through April 1.

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About Author

Zack Abrams is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Before coming to The Block, he was the Head Writer at Coinage, a Web3 media outlet covering the biggest stories in Web3. The story he co-reported on Do Kwon won a 2022 Best in Business Journalism award from SABEW. Other projects included a deep dive into SBF's defense based on exclusive documents and unveiling the identity of the hacker behind one of 2023's biggest crypto hacks — so far. He can be reached via X @zackdabrams or email, [email protected].