Crypto mergers and acquisitions reached $8.6 billion in disclosed deal value in 2025, according to PitchBook data cited by the Financial Times, making it the sector’s largest year for consolidation since tracking began.
PitchBook recorded 267 transactions across acquisitions, strategic investments, and internal restructurings. That total exceeded 2024 activity by 18% and contrasted sharply with the contraction seen during the regulatory and liquidity drawdown of 2022–2023. Deal value increased nearly fourfold from the $2.17 billion reported last year, driven by a small number of large, infrastructure-focused transactions.
Unlike previous cycles dominated by retail trading platforms and token issuers, this year’s activity concentrated on derivatives, prime brokerage, and payments infrastructure.
Large acquisitions concentrated in market plumbing
The largest transaction came in May, when Coinbase acquired derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion. The deal gave Coinbase immediate exposure to offshore options markets and institutional trading flows that would have taken years to build organically. Deal terms and valuation were disclosed publicly by both companies.
Kraken followed with a $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader, a US-based retail futures platform regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Kraken confirmed the deal closed in May after the exchange reported a 19% year-on-year increase in first-quarter gross revenue. The transaction marked one of the clearest integrations yet between a crypto-native exchange and a traditional futures brokerage.
Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of crypto prime broker Hidden Road added a third pillar to the year’s consolidation pattern. Ripple executives said at the time that the deal aimed to expand access to institutional liquidity, clearing, and financing services rather than retail trading.
Together, the three transactions accounted for more than half of total disclosed M&A value in 2025.
IPO markets reopen alongside private consolidation
Public markets also reopened to crypto firms after two years of limited access. According to data compiled by the Financial Times, 11 crypto-related companies raised $14.6 billion through initial public offerings in 2025, compared with $310 million across four listings in 2024.
Circle’s June listing on the New York Stock Exchange valued the stablecoin issuer at $16.7 billion, making it the largest crypto IPO of the year. Bullish, backed by Peter Thiel, followed with an August listing at a $13 billion valuation. Figure Technologies and eToro also completed offerings, while Kraken and BitGo have filed confidential paperwork for potential listings in 2026.
The return of IPO activity reduced reliance on private funding rounds and provided price discovery for later-stage firms, which in turn supported acquisition financing.
Regulation shifts deal risk calculus
Law firms and advisers involved in the transactions point to regulatory changes as a decisive factor. Charles Kerrigan, a partner at CMS who advises crypto firms on mergers and regulatory structuring, told the Financial Times that 2025 has been the firm’s busiest year on record for crypto deals.
Policy changes under the Trump administration altered the risk profile for large transactions. The passage of the GENIUS Act clarified stablecoin issuance and custody rules, while the Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew several enforcement actions against Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. Those moves reduced the probability that acquisitions would inherit unresolved regulatory exposure.
For acquirers, that clarity shifted deal analysis away from enforcement risk and toward integration and revenue execution.
What this cycle says about the market’s direction
The concentration of capital in derivatives, brokerage, and payments suggests that large firms are prioritizing infrastructure that supports institutional participation. These businesses generate recurring revenue, operate within established regulatory frameworks, and scale through balance-sheet capacity rather than user growth alone.
That pattern differs from earlier cycles, where consolidation often followed market crashes and focused on distressed retail platforms. In 2025, acquisitions occurred during a rising market and targeted operational capabilities instead of customer acquisition.
The data shows a market moving from experimentation to institutional standardization.
Whether that shift proves durable will depend less on token prices and more on how successfully these acquisitions integrate into regulated financial systems over the next several years.
Tanya Petrusenko
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