The 10 Biggest Cryptocurrency Acquisitions – Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News

The fourth quarter of 2024 witnessed a remarkable achievement Recovery in the cryptocurrency markethighlighted by Bitcoin surpassing the historic mark of US$100,000 on December 05.

This increase has been fueled by significant events, particularly Donald Trump’s election victory, which has stimulated expectations of a pro-crypto regulatory shift. South Korea has also played a major role in the global trade boom, driven by the altcoin craze.

According to CCData, a data and indicator solutions provider specializing in the digital assets market, total trading volume across major South Korean exchanges, including Upbeat and Bithumb Korea, reached a record high of US$254 billion, representing a staggering 294% increase on a basis. monthly. (monthly) increase. South Korea now accounts for 7.38% of total spot trading volumes on central exchanges.

November was also a watershed moment for global cryptocurrency trading, as the combined size of the spot and derivatives markets exceeded US$10 trillion for the first time.

Spot trading volume rose 128% month-on-month to US$3.43 billion, the second-highest monthly total since the previous peak in May 2021. Meanwhile, derivatives trading volumes rose 89.4% to US$6.99 trillion, surpassing the previous high. It was recorded in March. 2024.

The crypto sector’s recovery extends beyond trading, with takeover activity also gaining momentum. In October, Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin payment platform Bridge set a new record as the largest cryptocurrency acquisition by exit valuation.

To celebrate this milestone, I launched the market intelligence platform CB Insights Released Last month, a list of the 10 largest cryptocurrency acquisitions to date, ranked by exit valuation, was provided. Today, we take a look at these deals, to explore their underlying goals and ambitions.

Bridge – US$1.1 billion (October 2024)

In its largest acquisition to date, fintech giant Stripe acquired In October 2024, stablecoin platform Bridge was launched for a staggering $1.1 billion USD. This deal represents the largest M&A deal in the cryptocurrency industry to date.

Founded by Square and Coinbase alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, Bridge provides an application programming interface (API) that enables companies to accept stablecoins, and serves clients including SpaceX and Coinbase.

The strategic deal coincides with Stripe’s recent expansion into cryptocurrency services. In October, that He repeated Cryptocurrency payment jobs for businesses in the United States.

Bithumb – $706 million (October 2018)

In October 2018, BK Global Consortium acquired a majority stake in South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, for 400 billion KRW ($333 million USD). The value of the Bithumb transaction was estimated at 706 million US dollarsMaking it the second largest cryptocurrency acquisition in history.

Bithumb was founded in 2014, splurge Eight million users and over $1 trillion in cumulative transaction volume by October 2019.

BK Global Consortium is a Singapore-based consortium led by plastic surgeon Dr. Kim Byung-jun, Chairman of BK Group. Consortium Planned To create the Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA), a publicly traded entity that would “list” on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.

Poloniex – $400 million (February 2018)

Circle acquired cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex in February 2018 for I mentioned 400 million US dollars. At the time, Circle founders Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville said they envisioned building Poloniex into a marketplace for “tokens that represent everything of value,” including physical goods, real estate, and even creative products.

However, in October 2019, Poloniex I broke up From Circle to become Polo Digital Assets, with backing from an unnamed Asian investment firm.

Digital Assets – $320 million (March 2022)

FTX take Switzerland-based Digital Assets in March 2022 to launch FTX Europe, offering cryptocurrency trading to European clients. The value of the deal was estimated at approximately 400 million US dollars. According to To Reuters.

Before the acquisition, the main offering of digital assets He was White label service for exchanges to offer token shares.

FTX was one of the largest and most valuable cryptocurrency exchanges in the world before It collapses In late 2022 after a massive fraud committed by founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his partner Carolyn Ellison, the company was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Push the Bottle – US$300 million (November 2021)

NYDIG, a leading Bitcoin company based in New York, acquired In November 2021, Bottlepay, maker of a global app for real-time Bitcoin payments. Financial terms were not disclosed but people familiar with the matter said He said The block in which NYDIG paid an estimated $300 million worth of stock for Bottlepay.

Launched in European markets in 2019, Bottlepay is an app built on the Lightning Network Easy Social, streaming, micropayments. It offered real-time money transfer in Bitcoin and fiat currencies as well as integration with popular social media platforms.

The acquisition strengthens NYDIG’s Bitcoin platform by integrating Bottlepay’s accelerator network infrastructure, enabling financial institutions to provide cryptocurrency payments to retail customers.

Metaco – US$250 million (May 2023)

ripple Bought Swiss-based cryptocurrency custodian Metaco in May 2023 for US$250 million Cash and stocks ripplemarking the company’s first major acquisition.

Founded in 2014, Metaco provides technology for financial institutions to store and manage digital assets. Its clients have included Citi, BNP Paribas and the digital assets arm of Société Générale.

Ripple is the company behind the Ripple payment protocol that uses XRP as its native cryptocurrency. The deal strengthened Ripple’s partnerships with traditional finance.

Simplex – $250 million (May 2021)

Nuvei, a payment technology company from Canada, acquired In May 2021, Simplex, a payment solutions provider for the cryptocurrency industry, raised approximately $250 million in cash.

Founded in 2014, Simplex He provides Global infrastructure for converting fiat currencies into cryptocurrencies, enabling seamless cryptocurrency purchases and transactions. The company, an EU licensed financial institution, offers simple, seamless and secure channels for It turns Over 100+ fiat currencies to 160+ cryptocurrencies.

Nuvei is a payment processor headquartered in Montreal, Canada, that specializes in payment and payment options for businesses.

Bitstamp – $200 million (June 2024)

Robinhood Markets trading platform Announce In June 2024, it acquired cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for approximately US$200 million in cash, its largest-ever deal to date.

Bitstamp was founded in 2011 and has offices in Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Singapore, and the United States. The company has more than 50 active licenses and registrations globally and brings customers across the EU, UK, US and Asia to Robinhood.

This acquisition will allow Robinhood to expand its global cryptocurrency operations and introduce institutional services, including institutional lending and staking, the company said.

The Curve – $200 million (March 2021)

Digital payment giant PayPal acquired In March 2021, Curv, a cloud-based digital asset security infrastructure provider. The deal is worth it About 200 million US dollarswas part of PayPal’s broader strategy to accelerate its initiatives in cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

Catering to the needs of exchanges, brokers, funds and financial institutions, Curv’s services have enabled the secure handling of large-scale cryptocurrency holdings.

The Curv team has been integrated into PayPal’s cryptocurrency group, to support its efforts to expand its cryptocurrency offerings globally, including enabling cryptocurrency transactions on its platform and expanding these capabilities to include Venmo.

Apex Crypto – $200 million (November 2022)

Bakkt, an enterprise provider of crypto services, acquired In November 2022, Apex Crypto had a buyout price of around $200 million USD.

Launched in 2019, Apex Crypto provides a fully integrated cryptocurrency trading platform, developed to meet the needs of over 30 fintech companies and their clients across a rapidly expanding sector. Apex Crypto has supported clients with a robust solution of execution, clearing, custody, cost basis and tax services facilitating the frictionless delivery of cryptocurrency investment in over 30 tokens.

The objective of the acquisition of Apex Crypto was to strengthen Bakkt’s cryptocurrency product offering and expand its scope to additional customer segments including fintech companies, trading app platforms and neobanks.

Featured image credit: Edited from freepik