The Nasdaq-listed bitcoin exchange Coinbase has acquired the eponymous BRD startup behind the BRD wallet, according to a statement from its founders.
In a letter to the BRD community, Adam Traidman and Aaron Voyzin wrote:
“Today we would like to share the news that members of our team will continue our mission at Coinbase, where we will work together to bring the power of decentralization to an even larger number of users around the world.”
They noted that in the BRD app, “nothing will change for now and your funds are safe.”
“You can continue transacting as usual. In the future BRD users will have an optional path to self-custody with Coinbase Wallet, which will include a special gift,” said the BRD founders.
They promised to reveal details in 2022.
The Coinbase Wallet developers wrote on Twitter that the BRD team would join them “to accelerate Web3 adoption”.
“The team possesses deep knowledge in self-custody for crypto wallets, which will help us provide reliable and secure access to the decentralized world of cryptocurrencies,” they noted.
Against this backdrop, the Bread (BRD) native token surged more than tenfold—from around $0.16 to $1.69. As of writing, the price has corrected and the coin trades around $1.20.
In September, Coinbase announced the issuance of bonds worth $1.5 billion. The funds raised were planned to be used, among other things, to acquire startups, products and technologies.
Subsequently, the exchange raised the bond issuance to $2 billion, citing strong demand.
In November, Coinbase announced the acquisition of the startup Agara, which runs an AI-based customer support platform.