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<p>With Washington flipping the script on digital assets, crypto companies struck $8.6 billion in deals in 2025, notching the industry’s busiest mergers and acquisitions year to date.</p>
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   <li>Crypto dealmaking reached a record $8.6 billion in 2025 across 267 transactions.</li>
   <li>Major acquisitions by firms like Coinbase, Kraken, and Ripple drove the surge.</li>
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<p>According to a Financial Times <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b4d5e238-c34a-4602-91d0-4c7300b0006f" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">report</a> citing PitchBook data, 267 deals were recorded across the sector, comprising acquisitions, strategic investments, and consolidation moves, which marks an 18% rise from the previous year. In total, these deals accounted for $8.6 billion in value, which is roughly four times higher than the $2.17 billion worth of deals that were recorded in 2024.</p>
<p>Some of the biggest transactions include crypto exchange Coinbase’s <a href="https://crypto.news/coinbase-to-acquire-deribit-for-2-9b-in-largest-deal-yet-report/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">acquisition</a> of derivatives trading platform Deribit in May, which was the crypto industry’s largest ever takeover to date at $2.9 billion.</p>
<p>Other major deals included a $1.5 billion bid from crypto exchange Kraken to <a href="https://crypto.news/kraken-acquires-ninjatrader-as-q1-2025-revenue-jumps-19-year-on-year/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">acquire</a> United States-based retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader, after it recorded a 19% year-on-year increase in gross revenue during the first quarter of 2025. The acquisition concluded in May and was touted as the largest integration between a traditional finance platform and a crypto firm.</p>
<p>Blockchain payments firm Ripple also made the list after it <a href="https://crypto.news/hidden-road-secures-broker-dealer-license-days-after-1-25b-ripple-acquisition/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">finalized</a> a deal to acquire crypto prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion in April, as it sought to establish its presence in established institutional markets.</p>
<p>You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/bitcoin-bust-gold-silver-attract-safe-haven-flows/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Bitcoin demand weakens as gold, silver attract safe-haven flows </a></p>
<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="a-year-of-crypto-ipos">A year of crypto IPOs</h1>
<p>2025 was also the year of crypto IPOs as Wall Street witnessed several headline-making listings, leading to $14.6 billion raised from 11 crypto IPOs. In comparison, only $310 million was raised in 2024, across just four crypto listings.</p>
<p>Stablecoin issuer Circle’s $16.7 billion <a href="https://crypto.news/circle-ipo-debuts-strong-as-crcl-gains-over-120-on-day-1/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">debut</a> on the New York Stock Exchange in June was the largest of the year, followed by Peter Thiel-backed Bullish, which <a href="https://crypto.news/bullish-ipo-nets-1-1b-joining-circle-etoro-in-cryptos-public-surge/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">listed</a> in August with a $13 billion valuation.</p>
<p>Other notable listings included <a href="https://crypto.news/figures-7-6b-ipo-debut-shows-appetite-for-real-world-blockchain-firms/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Figure Technologies</a> and social trading platform <a href="https://crypto.news/etoro-to-debut-on-nasdaq-with-620m-targeted-raise-in-upsized-ipo/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">eToro</a>. Meanwhile, firms like Kraken and BitGo have <a href="https://crypto.news/kraken-confidentially-files-for-an-ipo-volatility/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">filed</a> for public offerings and expect a debut next year.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="regulatory-clarity-is-fuelling-demand">Regulatory clarity is fuelling demand</h2>
<p>“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, adding that he expects the pace of acquisitions to remain strong going into 2026, as the regulatory landscape has encouraged more traditional financial institutions to get involved in the sector.</p>
<p>Industry experts attribute the current momentum to sweeping regulatory changes under a pro-crypto administration led by President Donald Trump.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Since coming into power, the Trump administration has spearheaded multiple policy shifts, such as the <a href="https://crypto.news/the-genius-act-isnt-about-banks-vs-crypto-opinion/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">GENIUS Act</a>, and other structural initiatives like a national crypto reserve. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has also <a href="https://crypto.news/u-s-sec-drops-unregistered-securities-case-against-helium-developer-nova-labs/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">dropped</a> several high-profile lawsuits against companies like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken.</p>
<p>Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/ghana-legalizes-cryptocurrency-trading-under-new/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Ghana legalizes cryptocurrency trading under new regulatory framework </a></p>

Crypto deal volume hits record $8.6B in 2025 amid regulatory tailwinds

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