Crypto M&A explodes to $8.6B in 2025 as regulation tilts pro-crypto A surge in dealmaking has turned 2025 into the busiest year for crypto mergers and acquisitions to date. PitchBook data reported by the Financial Times shows 267 transactions across acquisitions, strategic investments and consolidations — an 18% increase in deal count from 2024 — and a total deal value of $8.6 billion, roughly four times the $2.17 billion recorded the year before. Big-ticket buys drove the tally. Highlights include: - Coinbase’s headline-grabbing purchase of derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion in May — the largest crypto industry takeover on record. - Kraken’s $1.5 billion acquisition of U.S. retail futures platform NinjaTrader, completed in May after Kraken posted a 19% year-on-year rise in gross revenue in Q1 2025. The deal was billed as a major integration between a traditional finance platform and a crypto firm. - Ripple’s $1.25 billion purchase of crypto prime broker Hidden Road in April as it pushes deeper into institutional markets. An IPO boom on Wall Street has amplified the sector’s capital inflows. Eleven crypto companies raised a combined $14.6 billion through IPOs in 2025, compared with just $310 million from four listings in 2024. The largest public debut belonged to stablecoin issuer Circle, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in June with a $16.7 billion valuation. Peter Thiel-backed Bullish followed with a $13 billion valuation after its August listing. Other notable public listings included Figure Technologies and social trading platform eToro, while firms such as Kraken and BitGo have filed for IPOs and are targeting debuts next year. Industry lawyers and dealmakers say the rush is tied closely to a friendlier regulatory environment. “It’s been the busiest year for us in crypto [deals] by a mile,” Charles Kerrigan, a partner at law firm CMS, told the Financial Times, predicting momentum will carry into 2026 as clearer rules and policy shifts draw more traditional financial players into the space. The deal and IPO wave has been driven in large part by policy change under the Trump administration, which has pushed pro-crypto initiatives such as the GENIUS Act and discussions around a national crypto reserve. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also backed off or dropped several high-profile enforcement actions against major platforms, including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken — a development that market participants say has reduced legal uncertainty and unlocked investment. Bottom line: 2025 has been a turning point for crypto corporate activity — bigger deals, blockbuster public listings and a regulatory pivot that’s inviting more mainstream capital into the sector. Expect 2026 to test whether this momentum becomes durable or rebalances once policy details and market conditions evolve. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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