Crypto M&A surpasses all previous years combined, says Areta
Crypto M&A tops $40B in record-breaking 2025
According to consulting firm Areta, which specializes in digital assets, the volume of cryptocurrency mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2025 has already exceeded the combined total of all previous years.
At ETHCC 8 in Cannes, Areta co-founders Carl-Martin Arend and Jan-Philipp Graps presented a report on crypto M&A trends, revealing the sector has already seen over $40 billion in deals this year. Drawing on their advisory work with major players like Robinhood, Swift, and MoonPay, Arend and Graps outlined where capital is flowing and why.
Trading infrastructure, staking services, payments, and on-chain deals lead the way.
Areta’s co-founders emphasize that institutional buyers increasingly prefer buying over building at record pace.
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“Robinhood is acquiring Bitstamp to expand its global licensing and add institutional trading capabilities,” said Arend. Similarly, Swift’s acquisition of AZ Crypto aims to consolidate users and create operational synergy.
A quieter wave of staking service consolidation tells another story. With proof-of-stake (PoS) networks now representing the majority of crypto value, control over validation operations has become a strategic priority.
Firms like Source Strategies are acquiring smaller validators—such as players in the Solana ecosystem—to internalize key operations. The goal: vertical integration, faster deployment, and better positioning for a competitive future.
Meanwhile, payment processors are racing to control the full stablecoin value chain—from issuance to settlement. Stripe’s Preview acquisition and MoonPay’s European push reflect a clear pattern: owning every part of the crypto payment process.
Trading platforms have become prime M&A targets, not for retail scale but for regulatory licenses and institutional infrastructure. Robinhood’s Bitstamp acquisition provided instant access to dozens of jurisdictions and a full institutional desk—a clear regulatory chess move.
Similar strategies from Coinbase and Swift confirm the shift: compliance capabilities are now competitive moats in crypto’s regulated future.
With nearly 80% of crypto businesses using stablecoins for B2B transactions, these moves signal a long-term bet on crypto as core financial rails, not just speculative assets.
But the most radical change is happening on-chain. Platforms like Enzyme allow businesses and institutions to launch and manage tokenized funds, liquidity pools, and financial products natively on the blockchain—rewriting the M&A rulebook via decentralization.
As we wrote, Crypto mergers expected to rise under Trump; Tether and Stripe eye acquisitions
