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Correction: Coinbase and Tagomi Deny Acquisition

A prior report that Tagomi had been acquired by Coinbase was incorrect, according to spokespeople at both companies.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong

CORRECTION (29 November 16:21 UTC): A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that that Coinbase had acquired Tagomi for $150 million.

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Coinbase has not agreed to acquire the crypto brokerage Tagomi.

"There is no acquisition planned," Rachael Horwitz, from the Coinbase communication team told CoinDesk in an email.

"The rumor of Coinbase acquiring Tagomi is not true," a Tagomi spokeswoman also confirmed.

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was said to have acquired prime broker Tagomi for $150 million, according to a source who claimed familiarity with the matter.

Tagomi, which has raised $28m in venture capital funding from firms like Pantera and Morgan Creek, was reported by The Block on Nov. 15 to be in acquisition talks with Coinbase.

“Tagomi and Coinbase were in talks last week – well Coinbase acquired Tagomi this morning for $150 million,” a source who claimed knowledge of the deal told CoinDesk. Both companies denied any acquisition subsequent to the story's publication. A source at Tagomi told CoinDesk that the two companies have had negotiations about doing business, not acquisitions.

Coinbase and Tagomi had not returned requests for comment by press time.

Tagomi was founded last year by ex Goldman traders and former Union Square Ventures employees.

Just days ago, the firm teamed up with Binance.US, the U.S. partner of the Malta-headquartered Binance cryptocurrency exchange, to bring extra liquidity. It's also one of less than 20 crypto companies to have been granted the notoriously hard to acquire New York "BitLicense."

Coinbase Prime, the exchange’s institutional trading platform was launched last year to attract Wall Street capital to crypto.

Ian Allison

Ian Allison is a senior reporter at CoinDesk, focused on institutional and enterprise adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to that, he covered fintech for the International Business Times in London and Newsweek online. He won the State Street Data and Innovation journalist of the year award in 2017, and was runner up the following year. He also earned CoinDesk an honourable mention in the 2020 SABEW Best in Business awards. His November 2022 FTX scoop, which brought down the exchange and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried, won a Polk award, Loeb award and New York Press Club award. Ian graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He holds ETH.

Ian Allison