The cryptocurrency market made deals for a record $ 8.6 billion in 2025

The cryptocurrency industry recorded a record $ 8.6 billion in transactions in 2025, reflecting the return of investor and financial institution interest in the sector following changes in US regulatory policy. According to the Financial Times, 267 deals were concluded during the year, which is 18% more than in 2024, and the total value of transactions increased by almost 300% compared to the previous year.

The largest deal of 2025, the acquisition of Deribit by Coinbase for $ 2.9 billion, was the largest purchase in the history of the digital asset market. Other major transactions include Kraken’s acquisition of the NinjaTrader trading platform for $ 1.5 billion and Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road for $ 1.25 billion.

Experts explain the sharp increase in activity by the fact that the Donald Trump administration has eased regulatory pressure on cryptocurrency companies. This step helped traditional financial players return and spurred a new wave of mergers and strategic investments.

In addition to M&A, 2025 was also a record year for initial public offerings (IPOs) of crypto companies — the total amount of funds raised reached $ 14.6 billion, compared to only $ 310 million in 2024. Among the most notable listings were Bullish, the parent company of CoinDesk ($ 1.1 billion), stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group (over $ 1 billion), and Gemini ($ 425 million).

The lawyers note that one of the key growth factors is regulatory certainty, in particular the harmonization of requirements under the European MiCA regulation. Companies are increasingly buying licensed projects to speed up compliance with new regulations. Despite the fact that cryptocurrency prices declined by the end of the year — Bitcoin fell by more than 30% from a peak of $ 126,000 to about $ 88,000 — experts expect the wave of corporate activity to continue in 2026, when new regulations in the US and UK come into effect.