Analysts recorded in 2021 a record number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving cryptocurrency, financial and technology companies, totaling about $6.1 billion. This is stated in the fresh отчете The Block Research.
According to the researchers, to date there have been more than 197 acquisitions. This is 131% higher than last year, when companies completed 85 deals.
The upturn in M&A activity is explained by the fact that crypto companies use these deals not only to eliminate rivals but also to expand their own services.
For example, the largest American Bitcoin exchange Coinbase, at the start of the year, acquired for an undisclosed sum the infrastructure-solutions provider Bison Trails. The cryptocurrency bank Galaxy Digital in May announced plans to to acquire the financial services provider BitGo for about $1.2 billion. It is expected that the deal will close by the end of 2021.
Similar processes are taking place among traditional financial companies. The payments giant Mastercard announced the acquisition of the analytics company CipherTrace, and the online stock broker Robinhood in December bought the cryptocurrency trading platform Cove Markets.
“Non-crypto companies are taking strategic steps to position themselves defensively and offensively as dapps applications emerge,” according to a note from consulting firm Architect Partners.
In December, it was announced that the metaverse and NFT infrastructure developer InfiniteWorld will go public on Nasdaq via a merger with SPAC Aries I Acquisition Corp.
Follow ForkLog’s bitcoin news on our Telegram — crypto news, prices and analysis.