On October 20, 2025, Coinbase acquired a non-fungible token (NFT) for $25 million USDC, burning it to revive the popular UpOnly podcast, which peaked during the 2021 bull market, per Cointelegraph. CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed the rumors on X, stating the purchase secures eight new episodes hosted by crypto influencer Jordan Fish (Cobie), per. The NFT, minted by Cobie in May 2025 as a “key” to restart the show, was listed on OpenSea with a top bid of just 4.7 ETH (~$18,500), making Coinbase’s overpay a historic fifth-largest NFT sale, per Arkham Intelligence. This bold revival signals Coinbase’s bet on crypto’s cultural resurgence amid a maturing market, per.
Cobie, whose podcast featured interviews with crypto luminaries like Vitalik Buterin and Sam Bankman-Fried (pre-FTX collapse), joked on X about the three-year hiatus: “Ah man wtf… 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,” per. Coinbase quipped back, “Time to go live Unc,” per. Sponsored by FTX until its 2022 downfall, UpOnly’s last episode aired in December 2022, but its “entertainment before alpha” vibe made it a bull run staple, per. On-chain data from Arkham confirms Coinbase transferred $25M USDC to Cobie’s wallet, per.
The announcement ignited memecoin mania on Coinbase’s Base layer-2 network. The UPONLY token surged 7,900% before dumping, while COBIE pumped 5,800%, per DEXScreener. A Solana-based UPONLY variant rose 250%, per. Crypto investor Rune tweeted, “An UPONLY memecoin went to $50M in 2024 on Solana… Now that Coinbase spent $25M on resuming UpOnly, let’s send a Base memecoin to $500M,” per. X buzz, including @DegenerateNews and @BasedPanel, amplified the hype, with some speculating a Zora integration for the podcast, per. This frenzy underscores crypto’s meme-driven volatility, with Base’s daily volume hitting $1.2B post-news, per.
Coinbase’s $25M splash reflects a broader push to reclaim crypto’s narrative from 2021’s highs, blending nostalgia with Base ecosystem growth now with $1.5B TVL and 500K daily active users, per. Armstrong‘s move aligns with Coinbase’s content investments, like the Coinbase Learn series, to engage retail amid $113,234 BTC and $4,070 ETH prices, per CoinMarketCap. Critics call it extravagant, but supporters see it fostering community amid regulatory clarity from SEC Chair Paul Atkins, per. The podcast’s return could spotlight DeFi, NFTs, and AI in crypto, potentially boosting Base memecoins like BRETT (up 15% post-news), per.
For investors, this highlights crypto’s cultural-economic interplay: monitor Base TVL on DefiLlama and NFT sales on OpenSea. BTC support at $112,000 and ETH at $4,000 hold firm; dollar-cost average with stop-losses or diversify into USDC, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for podcast updates. Up Only’s revival could signal a 2025 bull narrative refresh, driving $5B+ Base inflows if episodes drop soon, per. Nostalgia meets speculationcrypto’s favorite combo.
