Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the cryptocurrency sector surged in 2025, reaching record levels amid accelerating industry consolidation, deeper convergence between traditional finance and digital assets, and a more favorable regulatory landscape.
In the third quarter of 2025 alone, the industry saw 96 announced M&A transactions, totaling $10.4 billion, according to to new data from Architect Partners, an M&A and strategic financing consultancy specializing in crypto and fintech. These figures represent a staggering 3,367% YoY (YoY) increase in M&A value, from US$0.3 billion in Q3 2024, and a 191% YoY increase in deal count across 33 deals.
Year-to-date, the sector has recorded 271 transactions for the first three quarters of 2025, almost double the 128 recorded during the same period in 2024. The value of cryptocurrency M&A reached $17.7 billion, up 1,262% year-over-year from $1.3 billion.
Convergence of traditional finance and crypto
A key trend in the crypto M&A landscape in 2025 is the growing convergence of traditional financial institutions and the crypto sector.
In September, the British online trading platform IG Group acquired Independent Reserve, an Australian crypto exchange, for an initial enterprise value of 178 million AUD (116 million US dollars). The acquisition aims to accelerate IG’s entry into the cryptocurrency markets in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and complement its ongoing efforts to organically expand its cryptocurrency offerings in the UK and US.
IG, one of the 250 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), offers online trading platforms providing access to approximately 19,000 financial markets worldwide.
The same month, Solowin Holdings, a Hong Kong-based financial services company offering traditional and decentralized finance solutions, acquired AlloyX for US$350 million. Alloyx is a startup focused on cross-border payments and tokenization of institutional-grade assets via stablecoin infrastructure. The deal aims to integrate AlloyX’s technology into Solowin’s compliant financial ecosystem, enabling its global stablecoin strategy.
Gain size and enter new markets
Another key trend in 2025 is consolidation, with crypto companies acquiring competitors to expand their operations and enter new markets.
In July, Cold Wallet acquired competitor Plus Wallet for US$270 million, onboarding more than two million users to its platform.
Also in July, Australia-based crypto exchange Swyftx acquired Caleb & Brown, an American crypto brokerage and asset management firm focused on private high net worth (HNW) investors. The agreement, estimated worth A$100 million to $200 million (US$66 million to $132 million), aims to give Swyftx access to the United States, one of the world’s leading digital asset markets.
Caleb & Brown provides crypto brokerage, asset management and research services to thousands of private clients in the United States, as well as Australia, managing over AUD2 billion ($1.3 billion) in digital assets.
Expanded Capabilities
A third major M&A trend in 2025 is capacity expansion, with leading crypto companies recruiting young innovators to expand their capabilities and create more comprehensive digital asset ecosystems.
In July, Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, acquired LiquiFi. LiquiFi is a token management platform offering tools for token cap table management, vesting, and compliance. Its acquisition will allow Coinbase to partner more effectively with onchain builders and startup teams launching and managing their own tokens.
Over time, Coinbase plans to integrate these capabilities with Coinbase Prime, the company’s institutional-grade cryptocurrency exchange, to provide a complete end-to-end platform for token creation, custody, trading and compliance.
Transaction follows Coinbase’s $2.9 billion acquisition of the derivative platform Deribit in May. Deribit is one of the leading crypto options exchanges in terms of volume and open interest, with approximately $60 billion in open interest on the current platform and over $1 trillion traded last year.
Another prominent crypto company, Ripple, has also been active on the acquisition front. In August, he announcement its US$200 million acquisition of stablecoin startup Rail. The acquisition aims to strengthen Ripple’s position as a leader in digital asset payments infrastructure and add features including virtual accounts and automated back-office infrastructure.
This deal follows Ripple’s earlier acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road and corporate treasury firm GTreasury for more than 2 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, Talos, an institutional trading and wallet technology provider for digital assets, acquired in July Coin Metrics, a crypto data provider. The acquisition will see Talos integrate Coin Metrics’ extensive crypto market data, blockchain analytics and benchmarks, to create an integrated data and investment management platform.
Like Coinbase and Ripple, Talos has pursued an active acquisition strategy, previously acquiring Cloudwall, a risk management technology provider; Skolem, an infrastructure platform for institutional decentralized finance (DeFi) trading; and D3X Systems, a portfolio construction platform for systematic investing in digital assets. It aims to create the most comprehensive single solution for all institutional digital asset trading flows.
An improved regulatory landscape
Crypto M&A activity has increased this year thanks to a more favorable regulatory environment. In the United States, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for American Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act was promulgated on July 18 marking the first major US national legislation on cryptocurrencies. The bill aims to regulate the stablecoin market, creating a clearer framework for banks, companies and other entities to issue digital currencies.
Earlier, in 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lifted the ban on spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), approving 11 spot bitcoin ETFs. These instruments generated a combined trading volume of US$4.7 billion on day one, reflecting their appeal and convenience.
In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation came into force last year, marking the first comprehensive crypto framework introduced by a major global economy. Key elements of MiCA include licensing requirements for crypto-asset service providers, specific travel requirements, as well as rules covering the processing of stablecoins.
Sustained momentum
Crypto M&A activity is expected to remain strong through the final quarter of 2025, supported by large transactions. In late October, FalconX, an institutional digital asset brokerage, announcement an agreement to acquire 21shares, the provider of the world’s largest suite of crypto ETFs and exchange-traded products (ETPs).
The agreement aims to bring together 21shares’ expertise in developing and distributing asset management products with FalconX’s institutional-grade infrastructure, structuring capabilities and risk management platform, meeting the growing demand from institutions and individuals for exposure to regulated digital assets with tailored investment products.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Zurich, 21shares specializes in digital asset ETPs and manages over $11 billion in assets across 55 listed products.
Crypto broker FalconX has facilitated a trading volume of over US$2 trillion, serving a global clientele of over 2,000 institutions.
The company is experiencing rapid expansion, acquire crypto derivatives trading firm Arbelos Markets in January, and took a majority stake in Monarq Asset Management, a multi-strategy investment firm, in June, alongside expansions in Latin America, APAC and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image from sitthhiphong via Freepik
