2025 Web3 Acquisition Storm: Who is Redefining the Power Landscape?

Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News

2025 is the "Year of Acquisition and Absorption" for the giants.

Looking back at the acquisition deals of this year, the simple "big fish eats small fish" no longer suffices to summarize the dramatic changes in the market.

From Coinbase's $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, to Stripe's hefty $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, and the acquisition of wallet provider Privy, to the "century marriage" between Naver and Upbit's parent company, acquisitions are no longer just about eliminating competitors; they are about acquiring compliance licenses, filling business gaps, enhancing ecosystems, and bridging the "meridians" between Web2 and Web3.

From the "full-stack" competition among exchanges to Web2 giants seizing Web3 infrastructure, from the land grab of new stablecoin infrastructure to the consolidation and reshuffling of vertical tracks, each transaction is reshaping the future direction of the crypto industry.

This article will review the key acquisition cases in the Web3 industry in 2025 and attempt to analyze several major trends behind the acquisition wave through these capital movements.

The "Full-Stack" Competition of Mainstream Exchanges

Coinbase: The Ambition to Build a "Universal Exchange"

Coinbase's performance this year can be described as "merger and acquisition frenzy," with its strategic intent exceptionally clear: expanding external on-chain entry points and internally filling derivative gaps.

Seizing the Derivatives Throne: In August, Coinbase acquired Deribit for $2.9 billion (cash + stock). This is not just a transaction but a transfer of power. By taking over this absolute leader in the options market, Coinbase instantly filled its biggest gap in the professional trading field, gaining the confidence to compete directly with other mainstream exchanges in the derivatives space.
On-Chain Infrastructure Closed Loop: Whether acquiring Vector.fun from the Solana ecosystem, or securing the DeFi derivatives protocol Opyn and the browser product Roam, as well as the DeFi project Sensible, Coinbase is attempting to turn "on-chain operations" into a "native experience" within its app.
Entering the Primary Market: After spending $375 million to acquire Echo in October, Coinbase launched an end-to-end token sales platform, with the first sale being Monad, planning to hold a token sale every month in the future. This move indicates that Coinbase is evolving into a role as a primary market financing platform.
Privacy Protection: Privacy protection has also been incorporated into Coinbase's strategy. In March, Base announced the acquisition of the Iron Fish development team to develop privacy protection primitives for Base.
Content and Advertising: From acquiring Spindl (advertising technology) to Up Only NFT (content podcast), Coinbase is building a self-sufficient traffic ecosystem, no longer relying on external blood transfusions.

It is evident that Coinbase is evolving from an "exchange" to a "universal exchange." Whether it is derivatives, spot trading, stablecoin issuance, token sales, or on-chain applications, everything points to the same goal: to become the "super app" of the Web3 world, allowing users to fulfill all their needs from investment to consumption within the Coinbase ecosystem.

Robinhood & Kraken & Binance & Backpack

Other mainstream exchanges have not stopped either, expanding their global footprint and asset classes through acquisitions.

Robinhood's Global Expansion: Completing a $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp in June, and a $179 million acquisition of Canadian WonderFi in May, marks Robinhood's complete shedding of the "U.S. retail investor stronghold" label, achieving geographical expansion through compliance licenses.
Kraken's Reverse Cross-Border Move: Acquiring the U.S. retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion is Kraken's most ambitious cross-border move. Kraken is no longer satisfied with just crypto asset trading but is attempting to become a comprehensive trading platform spanning TradFi and Crypto, with plans to introduce stocks, prediction markets, and options. Additionally, Kraken acquired the CFTC-regulated designated contract market Small Exchange for $100 million from IG Group, and acquired assets from Israeli no-code trading company Capitalise.ai and proprietary trading platform Breakout. Furthermore, it obtained a MiFID license through the acquisition of a Cypriot investment company, allowing it to offer derivatives products in the EU.
Binance: Binance is gradually alleviating regulatory pressure and strengthening its position in the Asia-Pacific market through the acquisition of South Korea's Gopax, introducing a $2 billion investment from MGX, and a 40% equity cooperation with SoftBank Group's subsidiary PayPay in Binance Japan.
Backpack: In April, it completed the acquisition of FTX EU and launched a suite of derivatives products focused on the EU.
IG Group: The UK online trading platform IG Group acquired Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve for $117.41 million, expanding its digital product offerings and footprint in the Asia-Pacific region.

Payments and Stablecoins: The "New Infrastructure" Battle of Financial Giants

Stablecoins are at a critical turning point from being tools within the circle to "commercial payments." Web2 payment giants and traditional financial institutions are no longer on the sidelines but are directly entering the fray through acquisitions to seize minting rights and circulation networks.

Stripe: Silicon Valley Giant's "Stablecoin Conspiracy"

Stripe's $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge is a landmark event of the year. The bank trust license that Bridge is applying for, combined with Stripe's vast merchant network, means that Stripe aims to be more than just a payment channel; it wants to become the "central bank" between fiat and cryptocurrencies. At the same time, Stripe's acquisition of wallet service provider Privy reveals its ambition to control the Web3 user entry point, allowing hundreds of millions of users to seamlessly enter the space.

Mastercard: Attempting to Directly Control Crypto Settlement Infrastructure

Mastercard is negotiating to acquire crypto and stablecoin infrastructure startup Zerohash for $1.5 to $2 billion, indicating that traditional card organizations are unwilling to become mere conduits and are trying to directly control the underlying crypto settlement facilities.

Ripple: Positioning in Wholesale Brokerage and Stablecoin Ecosystem

Ripple has transformed from a single payment network to a comprehensive financial service provider by acquiring wholesale broker Hidden Road (now renamed Ripple Prime) for $1.25 billion, stablecoin payment platform Rail for $200 million, and global treasury management system GTreasury for $1 billion. The launch of the RLUSD stablecoin is strongly supported by powerful scenarios.

Paxos & Circle: DeFi Connection + Compliance Moat

Circle acquired tokenization company Hashnote for over $120 million, while Paxos acquired institutional-grade custody and wallet technology providers Fordefi and Membrane Finance. These established stablecoin issuers are strengthening their capabilities in DeFi connections and European compliance (MiCA legislation) through acquisitions to compete with payment giants.

Internet Giants and Physical Industries Entering the Fray

When South Korean internet giant Naver "swallowed" Upbit's parent company Dunamu through a stock swap, we witnessed the ultimate form of Web3 mergers and acquisitions: the complete integration of traffic, payments, AI, and Crypto.

Naver + Dunamu: This is a perfect complement. Naver controls traffic entry and payment networks, while Dunamu's subsidiary Upbit is the largest crypto trading platform in South Korea. The two parties have a joint investment plan of $6.8 billion aimed at establishing a new generation of financial infrastructure based on AI and blockchain technology.
Rumble + Northern Data: Video platform Rumble's acquisition of Northern Data, a Bitcoin mining company, appears to be a competition for computing power, but in reality, it is Tether (as the major shareholder) leveraging crypto capital to support AI infrastructure. This marks the beginning of crypto capital "shifting from virtual to real," vying for pricing power in the AI era.

Business Expansion and "Big Fish Eats Small Fish" in Vertical Fields

Beyond the spotlight, mergers and acquisitions in the infrastructure and prediction market sectors are equally tumultuous.

Aggregation at the Infrastructure Layer: Chainalysis acquired AI fraud detection company Alterya, and Talos acquired Coin Metrics. This indicates that institutional investors no longer need simple data but require "intelligent intelligence" that has been AI-cleaned and can be used for risk control and trading decisions.
Mining's Computing Power and Energy Integration: MARA acquired a 64% stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of comprehensive energy operator EDF Group, for $168 million, Riot "swallowed" Rhodium assets for a total price of $185 million, and Bitfarms completed a full stock acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining for over $110 million.
LayerZero's Cross-Chain Integration: In August, cross-chain asset transfer protocol LayerZero acquired Stargate for approximately $110 million, achieving further integration of cross-chain liquidity.
Polymarket's U.S. Expansion: Polymarket spent $112 million to acquire QCX and received CFTC approval, marking Polymarket's exit from the "gray area" and its establishment as a regulated derivatives market in the U.S.

Major Trends Behind the 2025 Acquisition Wave

By sorting through the dozens of transactions mentioned above, we can clearly see the logic behind the acquisition wave of 2025:

The "Full-Stack" Evolution of Exchanges

Exchanges, as the entry points of traffic in the crypto industry, have their merger and acquisition actions directly determining the market landscape. In 2025, the acquisition strategies of leading exchanges exhibit a dual characteristic of "horizontal expansion + vertical deepening."

Coinbase initiated multiple acquisitions, no longer satisfied with spot trading, but instead using acquisitions to fill gaps in derivatives, on-chain trading, DeFi, primary market offerings, and privacy. Kraken's acquisition of Bitstamp and its reverse acquisition of NinjaTrader also indicate that giants are building "moats" through full-stack layouts.

Compliance Licenses Become Core Targets for Acquisitions

With the end of the regulatory arbitrage era, compliance qualifications have become the ticket to entry. Coinbase's acquisition of a Cyprus CIF license, Kraken's acquisition of a MiFID license, and Paxos's acquisition of Membrane to obtain an EU electronic money license all reflect the strategic logic of "license first." Especially, the strict limitations imposed by the U.S. "GENIUS Act" on stablecoin issuing institutions have significantly increased the value of targets with banking licenses or trust qualifications.

Buying Technology Instead of Building Technology

Coinbase's acquisition of Deribit not only gained market share but also brought its derivatives pricing and risk control technology under its wing; LayerZero's $110 million acquisition of Stargate quickly strengthened its cross-chain transmission capabilities; wallet company Exodus's acquisitions of Baanx and Monavate directly obtained payment card infrastructure. This "buy technology instead of building technology" strategy has significantly shortened the product iteration cycle.

Institutionalization Drives Demand for Infrastructure

The acceleration of institutionalization in the crypto market has spurred a rise in infrastructure acquisitions. Ripple's acquisition of Hidden Road was aimed at meeting the wholesale brokerage needs of institutional clients, with its business growing threefold post-acquisition; Talos's acquisition of Coin Metrics provides more comprehensive trading data support for hedge funds and other institutions; Paxos's acquisition of Fordefi addresses the security and custody pain points for institutions entering DeFi. The influx of institutional funds has made the value of professional infrastructure increasingly prominent.

Conclusion

The wave of crypto mergers and acquisitions in 2025 is the result of multiple forces colliding: the expansion of giants, regulatory recognition, the entry of traditional finance, and technological maturity.

This year, we witnessed the "full-stack" evolution of exchanges, saw payment companies and financial infrastructure providers regard stablecoins as the next generation of infrastructure, observed internet giants touching the Crypto field or beginning to view Crypto as a mainstream business, and recognized computing power and AI as new battlegrounds.

However, we must also acknowledge that the expansion of acquisition scale does not equate to the resolution of industry issues. The key in the future lies not in "what to buy," but in "how to integrate"—how to merge the acquired assets into a truly synergistic ecosystem, how to maintain innovation while meeting regulatory requirements, and how to protect market diversity amid centralization trends.

The wave of mergers and acquisitions in 2025 has just begun, and its true impact will gradually emerge over the coming years. But one thing is certain: the process of giantization and ecosystemization in the crypto industry is already irreversible.

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