In 2025, crypto merger and acquisition (M&A) activity reached $8.6 billion by November, with a record 133 deals closed, setting an unprecedented high in both the number of deals and their total value.
The total dollar amount in business transactions surpassed the combined value of the previous four years, as reported by Bloomberg, referencing Pitchbook data.
Coinbase was at the forefront of M&A activity, executing six acquisition deals in 2025, which included the $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, a leading crypto derivatives marketplace.
Other acquisitions by Coinbase included the blockchain-based advertising platform Spindl, the Roam web browser team, the on-chain capital raising platform Echo, as well as the purchase of Vector.Fun, a memecoin exchange platform, and token management firm Liquifi.
This record level of M&A activity indicates that the crypto industry is growing, propelled by favorable conditions like a shift in US regulations and the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates, despite a recent market downturn.
Related: Crypto VC activity reaches $4.6B in Q3, marking the second-best quarter since the FTX collapse
Remarkable year for Kraken and Ripple’s M&A initiatives
Ripple made four acquisitions in 2025 as part of its strategy to grow through significant acquisitions and partnerships.
Ripple’s deals included the $1.25 billion acquisition of prime brokerage Hidden Road, the $1 billion buyout of GTreasury, a corporate treasury management firm, the $200 million acquisition of stablecoin platform Rail, and the purchase of wallet provider Palisade.
Crypto exchange Kraken reported five acquisitions in 2025, beginning with the May acquisition of futures trading platform NinjaTrader, followed by the September purchase of Breakout, a proprietary trading platform.
In October, the company expanded its derivatives trading services by acquiring Small Exchange for $100 million, allowing Kraken to develop crypto derivatives markets for US clients.
Kraken’s latest acquisition was in November when it acquired Backed Finance AG, the entity behind the tokenized stock platform xStocks.
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