Coinbase CEO Confirms Spending $25M to Buy UpOnly NFT From Cobie

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on Tuesday, confirmed the purchase of $25 million UpOnly NFT from well-known crypto trader Cobie.

“The rumors are true, we bought the NFT,” Armstrong wrote to his 1.6 million followers on X. “UpOnlyTV is coming back.”

The rumors are true, we bought the NFT. @UpOnlyTV is coming back. pic.twitter.com/kbGNzjLoJQ

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) October 20, 2025

Per on-chain data, Coinbase paid $25 million in USDC to Cobie for the NFT, pushing him back into the host’s chair, aiming to resurrect the podcast.

UpOnly NFT originated from the podcast show “UpOnly” hosted by Cobie, along with Ledger. The show invites top traders, project founders, fund managers, to discuss crypto trends.

However, the program stalled roughly three years ago, following the FTX collapse in 2022 and the subsequent crypto winter.

‘When NFT is Burnt, Podcast Will Restart’: Cobie

In May 2025, Cobie created a challenge that if someone burns the NFT, the program would return for another season.

“OK I am no longer the decision maker on if UpOnly returns,” Cobie wrote in May. “The power is now stored within this NFT that I just minted. When the NFT is burned, the podcast will restart. Until then, please leave me alone.”

OK 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.

Until then, please leave me alone.https://t.co/5Mar75ifw6

— Cobie (@cobie) May 7, 2025

The offer however limited sponsorship rights or editorial control. Given the high dollar-amount set on the NFT, Cobie said at the time, “You couldn’t set a dollar amount on OpenSea so I just kept adding 0s till the number seemed too big for anyone to buy even as a joke.”

On Tuesday, not only did Coinbase purchase UpOnly’s NFT, but it apparently overpaid the asking price of the non-fungible token.

Soon after the Coinbase’s purchase, Jordan Fish, aka Cobie, conveyed his disbelief quite concisely.

UpOnly Podcast Returns With ‘Eight Episodes’

According to the NFT fine print, the holder of the token “can compel Cobie and Ledger Status into performing, like monkeys, 8 episodes of UpOnlyTV.”

“We are allowed to call you idiots for buying it, or ignore you completely with zero mentions of your existence during our 8-episode season,” the NFT description read.

In a separate post on X, Cobie joked, “Im too old to have a crypto podcast imma be out here looking like Gary V.”

“It has been 3 years since up only 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.”

It has been 3 years since up only 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

— Cobie (@cobie) October 20, 2025

Coinbase’s purchase comes at the same time as it suffered intense technical difficulties linked to an outage with Amazon Web Services (AWS).