mergers

UK real estate technology startup Dwelly announced the completion of a $170 million financing round to acquire more real estate companies and integrate artificial intelligence into its operations.This round of financing was led by EQT Growth and General Catalyst, including $95 million in equity financing and a $75 million debt financing facility provided by Trinity Capital. The company did not disclose its valuation.

The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) competition phase is coming to an end, but the real challenges for businesses are just beginning. The high costs of maintaining a compliant operational system may change the landscape of the European crypto industry. In the future, the focus of industry competition may shift from "who can obtain a license" to "who has the capacity to bear regulatory costs," driving companies to achieve scalable development through mergers, joint ventures, or partnerships with banks.As MiCA gradually takes effect and the UK's crypto regulatory framework is about to take shape, the European crypto industry is entering a new phase of consolidation. Industry insiders believe that high regulatory standards may spur a new wave of mergers and acquisitions, and cooperation between crypto-native companies and traditional financial institutions will deepen further. This trend in the UK market may be even more pronounced. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is developing a new regulatory framework for crypto assets, which is expected to incorporate crypto businesses into the existing financial services regulatory system, subjecting them to capital, operational, and customer asset protection requirements similar to those faced by traditional investment institutions.Steven Lightstone, a partner at Morgan Lewis's London office and co-head of the global fintech team, stated that the FCA aims to promote market competition and support new entrants, but its regulatory standards will be very strict when it comes to consumer protection. Unlike the EU's independently operating MiCA framework, the UK approach will directly utilize the existing financial regulatory system to manage crypto businesses. Meanwhile, the increase in regulatory certainty is driving European banks to accelerate their entry into the digital asset space. Sygnum Europe CEO Simon Schneider noted that currently, less than 20% of banks in Europe offer crypto-related services, indicating a significant market gap. The greatest value of MiCA is not just in creating a new licensing system, but in providing legal certainty for financial institutions to enter the digital asset market.He pointed to Switzerland as an example, where after the introduction of regulations on distributed ledger technology, most large Swiss banks began offering digital asset services, a path that may be replicated in other parts of Europe in the future. In the future, banks may not necessarily replace crypto-native companies but are more likely to rely on specialized infrastructure service providers to collaborate in areas such as custody, brokerage, staking, and asset tokenization. As companies that fail to obtain MiCA licenses gradually exit the European market, assets may further concentrate among regulated entities. However, Schneider believes that self-custody models and institutional custody models will continue to coexist in the long term. Industry insiders believe that the European crypto industry is entering a "regulation-driven consolidation cycle." For crypto startups that previously relied on rapid innovation and asset-light models, the core competitiveness in the future may no longer be just technological speed, but compliance capability, capital scale, and the ability to integrate financial infrastructure.

According to CoinDesk, Wall Street broker Bernstein pointed out in a recent report that the rapid integration of the market technology stack is increasing the likelihood of a new round of mergers and acquisitions in the field of sports event contracts and financial markets.The report states that in the past eight months, major prediction platforms have been developing towards simultaneously controlling customer distribution and exchange infrastructure. Although Kalshi and Polymarket have core technology stacks, their distribution capabilities are relatively lagging, making them potential acquisition targets.Recent actions include DraftKings acquiring Railbird to launch DKeX, Robinhood collaborating with Susquehanna to create Rothera, and Coinbase acquiring The Clearing Company. Bernstein believes that Robinhood and Coinbase are currently in a relatively advantageous position in the competitive landscape, as both have large consumer user bases and fully owned regulated infrastructures, while Kalshi and Polymarket are viewed as potential acquisition targets due to their lack of large-scale distribution capabilities.

According to informed sources, Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency platform Kraken, is conducting a new round of capital financing at a valuation of $20 billion, to which Kraken declined to comment.The company has recently significantly increased its merger and acquisition spending—acquiring the stablecoin-focused payment company Reap for $600 million and the digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for $550 million, both transactions conducted at a $20 billion valuation.Its largest transaction was the $1.5 billion acquisition of the U.S. retail futures platform and CFTC-registered futures commission merchant NinjaTrader in 2025, which provided Kraken with a significant foothold in the U.S. derivatives market.Regarding IPO progress, Payward secretly submitted an S-1 registration statement draft to the U.S. SEC on November 19, 2025. Although reports in March 2026 indicated that the company paused its IPO plans due to unfavorable market conditions, sources stated that the company still intends to go public, but may wait for market improvements.At last week's Consensus conference in Miami, Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated that the trading platform is "80% ready" for an IPO.Additionally, Deutsche Börse (DB1) purchased approximately 1.5% of Payward's shares for $200 million through a secondary share sale in April 2026, valuing Payward at $13.3 billion (lower than the previous financing round's valuation of about $20 billion).In November 2025, Kraken completed an $800 million financing in two tranches to push traditional financial products onto the blockchain, with investors including Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, and Tribe Capital. Subsequently, Citadel Securities also made a strategic investment of $200 million at a $20 billion valuation.

Special Purpose Acquisition Company Forefront Tech announced the completion of its initial public offering (IPO) pricing, with a total size of $100 million, and will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "FTHAU." It is reported that the funds raised will be used to explore merger and acquisition opportunities in the fields of blockchain, fintech, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.

Special Purpose Acquisition Company Forefront Tech Holdings Acquisition Corp announced the completion of its initial public offering (IPO) pricing, with a total scale of $100 million, and will be listed on NASDAQ under the ticker "FTHAU." It is reported that the funds raised will be used to explore merger and acquisition opportunities in the fields of blockchain, artificial intelligence, fintech, and other emerging technologies.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated during an online event for the XRP community that XRP remains Ripple's "North Star." The company will focus primarily on business integration this year, and large acquisitions are unlikely in the short term, though it does not rule out reassessing merger and acquisition opportunities in the second half of 2026.Garlinghouse pointed out that Ripple invested approximately $4 billion into the crypto ecosystem last year through investments, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, including the $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road and the $1 billion acquisition of the fund management platform GTreasury. Compared to the aggressive expansion in 2025, the company will focus more on integrating existing businesses and resources this year. He also mentioned that future mergers and acquisitions will still revolve around strengthening the XRP ecosystem and practical applications, but the overall pace will be more cautious.

According to RootData, this week (January 19-25), the crypto market witnessed a total of 12 financing events, 3 mergers and acquisitions (Universal Execution Abstraction Protocol Atlas, decentralized social network Farcaster, crypto media Coinstack), and 1 IPO (crypto custody service provider BitGo, raising $213 million).Among the 12 financing events, the blockchain-based government bond fund Superstate secured $82.5 million in Series B funding from institutions such as Bain Capital Crypto, Haun Ventures, and Galaxy Digital; the chain abstract stablecoin system River received $12 million in strategic financing from institutions including Tron; the asset-backed protocol Cork Protocol obtained $5.5 million in seed round financing from a16z CSX, Gate Labs, and others; and the intent-driven modular blockchain Warden Protocol secured $4 million in strategic financing, with a post-money valuation of $200 million.

According to DL News, the cryptocurrency market is expected to surpass the record $37 billion in merger and acquisition transactions set in 2025 by 2026.Data from Architect Partners shows that publicly disclosed cryptocurrency M&A transaction volume surged sevenfold to $37 billion in 2025, far exceeding analysts' expectations of $30 billion. The number of transactions increased by 74% year-on-year to 356, with 39 transactions exceeding $100 million and 17 transactions exceeding $500 million.Karl-Martin Ahrend, co-founder of cryptocurrency M&A consulting firm Areta, stated that transaction activity in 2026 will depend on regulatory clarity, interest rates, risk appetite, and valuation attractiveness. Traditional financial institutions are most interested in the stablecoin and payments sectors. The report indicates that more traditional companies are expected to acquire cryptocurrency capabilities rather than build them in-house.

Gemini's Director of Institutional Business, Patrick Liou, released five predictions for 2026.The 4-year Bitcoin cycle is dead; ETFs and institutional adoption have made the market more mature, with volatility dropping from a historical 80% to 25-40%, and drawdowns only 30% instead of the past 75-90%.Crypto will become a bipartisan issue in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, with the CLARITY Act expected to break through.The crypto prediction market will expand significantly, with Polymarket's growth attracting players like Coinbase.Digital asset reserve companies will merge to survive; MicroStrategy's massive losses in Q4 last year and a 60% drop in MSTR's stock price show the pressure.At least one country will sell part of its gold reserves to buy Bitcoin; Germany, Sweden, and the Czech Republic have publicly discussed BTC as a reserve asset. Liou believes that 2026 will be driven by institutions, policies, and sovereign capital, rather than speculative cycles.

ChainCatcher news, according to the “RootData 2025 Web3 Industry Annual Report”, shows that 2025 will present a rhythm of "Q3 concentrated IPOs and Q4 merger explosions," reflecting the path of companies "first going public for financing, then integrating and expanding." In November, the monthly merger amount accounted for 59% of the annual total, mainly driven by the actions of giants like Naver acquiring Dunamu.The report indicates that the integration trend will continue in the first half of 2026, with industry leaders building moats through capital operations, while small and medium-sized projects face the harsh choice of "being acquired or being eliminated."

According to the Financial Times, the global cryptocurrency industry completed a total of 267 merger and acquisition transactions in 2025, amounting to $8.6 billion, nearly quadrupling from 2024 and setting a new historical record.The Trump administration listed cryptocurrency as a national priority, promoting regulatory easing, lawsuit dismissals, and the establishment of a national cryptocurrency reserve, which helped drive capital inflow. Coinbase spent $2.9 billion to acquire Deribit, making it the largest deal of the year, while Kraken and Ripple acquired NinjaTrader and Hidden Road, respectively. Throughout the year, 11 cryptocurrency companies raised a total of $14.6 billion through IPOs. It is expected that the M&A boom will continue in 2026 due to compliance pressures and the implementation of stablecoin regulations.

According to Bloomberg, PitchBook data shows that thanks to the favorable cryptocurrency policies in the United States, as of November 20, the total merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions of major cryptocurrency companies this year have exceeded $8.6 billion, setting a new historical high and surpassing the total of the previous four years.Data from cryptocurrency consulting firm Architect Partners, which used a different approach, also confirms this trend. The firm found that the relevant transaction volume has reached $12.9 billion so far this year, a significant increase from last year's $2.8 billion. PitchBook analyst Ben Riccio stated, "In 2025, major cryptocurrency companies are more willing to acquire, driven by interest rate cuts, clearer regulatory policies, and the cryptocurrency bull market at the beginning of the year, prompting them to enter a growth mode."The substantial trading activities driven by companies like Coinbase, Kraken, and Ripple Labs have concentrated a large number of M&A activities before the sell-off wave in October. Major acquisitions this year include: Coinbase acquiring the options exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion, Kraken acquiring the retail futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, and Ripple acquiring the prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. These transactions are expected to push the M&A scale in 2025 far beyond the record set in 2021.

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, the latest research report from Citizens Bank in the U.S. shows that merger and acquisition activities in the digital asset industry are accelerating and are expected to speed up further. With the passage of the GENIUS Act (stablecoin regulations) and the anticipated introduction of the CLARITY Act (market structure), the regulatory environment in the U.S. has shifted from "hostile" to supportive, encouraging banks, payment processors, and asset management companies to actively integrate blockchain infrastructure.The report indicates that Mastercard is in talks to acquire ZeroHash for up to $2 billion, and Coinbase is also nearing completion of a similar-scale acquisition of the London-based company BVNK. The technical complexity, talent shortages, and compliance requirements have made acquisitions the most practical expansion path for traditional institutions. The market capitalization of stablecoins has increased from $250 billion in the middle of the year to approximately $315 billion, and it is expected to exceed $1 trillion. Citizens Bank predicts that by 2030, the tokenized market could generate nearly $100 billion in annual revenue, including trading, custody, and data services.

ChainCatcher news, according to Securities Times, Beijing has released the "Opinions on Supporting Mergers and Acquisitions to Promote the High-Quality Development of Listed Companies." The "Opinions" encourage and guide more resource elements to gather towards new productive forces.The "Opinions" encourage listed companies to carry out mergers and acquisitions around strategic emerging industries, future industries, etc., accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, medical health, integrated circuits, intelligent connected vehicles, cultural industries, technology services, embodied intelligent robots, new energy, synthetic biology, quantum information, blockchain and advanced computing, low-altitude technology, commercial aerospace, 6G, and other key industrial fields in Beijing, promote the upgrading of service industries, advanced manufacturing, and agriculture, and build a modern industrial system for the capital.

ChainCatcher news, David Duong, head of Coinbase's investment research department, stated that as the market cycle matures and companies strive to attract investors, they may begin to pursue merger and acquisition deals. Digital asset treasury companies (DATs) will ultimately consolidate under a few large institutions, similar to the recent collaboration between Strive and Semler Scientific.Strive, which is transforming from an asset management company to a Bitcoin treasury company, announced on September 22 that it will acquire Semler Scientific, also a digital asset treasury company (DAT), through an all-stock transaction.