Crypto Dealmaking Accelerates to $8.6B on Policy Optimism

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Crypto dealmaking accelerates to $8.6B on policy optimism Original Link:

Overview

The 2025 financial reports recently positioned the crypto industry as the sector with the most significant deals, totaling approximately $8.6 billion. This substantial achievement has been attributed to pro-crypto policy stance, which has improved investor confidence in the sector and promoted mergers and acquisitions centered on the crypto ecosystem.

According to financial analysis from Pitchbook, a total of 267 deals had been struck in the crypto industry as of December 23. This record marked a considerable 18% rise from 2024. The total deal value of $8.6 billion demonstrated an increase of approximately 300% compared to 2024, when the total deal value was $2.17 billion. Analysts still expect this trend to continue in 2026.

Major Acquisitions Drive Growth

A leading cryptocurrency exchange secured a major acquisition of a derivatives trading platform for approximately $2.9 billion, marking the most significant acquisition in the crypto industry to date.

Other notable mergers included a major exchange’s acquisition of a futures trading platform in a deal valued at around $1.5 billion. Another prominent crypto firm also struck a $1.25 billion agreement to acquire a global credit network and institutional prime broker that supports the cryptocurrency industry.

This achievement in the crypto ecosystem has been attributed to deregulation measures and the withdrawal of regulatory lawsuits. This decision prompted traditional financial institutions to make significant investments in the sector.

IPO Surge

Reports confirmed that approximately $14.6 billion was collected from 11 initial public offerings (IPOs) linked to crypto worldwide. This finding illustrated a major surge from $310 million raised in 2024 via four IPOs.

Notable IPOs this year included:

• A major digital asset platform focused on institutional trading, which collected $1.1 billion
• A global financial technology firm known for issuing a popular stablecoin, that raised over $1 billion
• Another significant crypto exchange that gathered $425 million

2026 Outlook

Analysts predict that demand for stablecoin firms will continue to escalate in 2026, driven by the adoption of new crypto-friendly regulations in the US and the UK. Firms are expected to make considerable investments to remain compliant with new licensing rules, largely through acquisitions.

The new regulatory environment in the United States is expected to prompt traditional finance companies to begin exploring the industry, resulting in an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions.

This growth trajectory unfolds despite the crypto market’s volatility towards the end of the year, with Bitcoin experiencing a drastic decrease of more than 30% from its all-time high of over $126,000 set in early October. Currently, Bitcoin has remained relatively stable, trading just below $88,000 after recovering from intraday lows near $86,500.