Robinhood acquires Bitstamp for US$200 million, taking stock of 5 major acquisitions in the crypto industry this year

Author: Shenchao TechFlow

The ups and downs of the secondary market are no longer the whole story of the crypto industry.

Mergers and acquisitions are becoming the new normal in the crypto industry this year.

On June 3, Robinhood, known for its low-threshold stocks and cryptocurrency trading, acquired Luxembourg crypto exchange Bitstamp for $200 million in cash.

In the crypto market, buying a mature business is much more cost-effective than investing it yourself; instead of starting from scratch, it is better to trade mergers and acquisitions for efficiency.

This strategy seems to be spreading in the crypto industry, with large-scale acquisitions of capital frequently occurring this year from exchanges to payment infrastructure and then to derivatives markets. Each participant does not have a completely consistent interest consideration, but the motivation is roughly the same:

Those entering the market hope to join forces to keep warm and become bigger and stronger; those who exit hope to sell at a good price and complete the turn.

Including Robinhood, there have been 5 major acquisition cases in the industry this year. Let's take a look at what dynamics are hidden in the capital abacus.

1. Robinhood acquires Bitstamp: Fast lane to obtain global licenses

Acquisition amount : US$200 million

Acquisition business : Exchange

The first thing to know is that Bitstamp holds more than 50 regulatory licenses and is known for its compliance and institutional client base.

The exchange is also one of the oldest crypto exchanges, with public data showing that it currently serves 5,000 institutions and 50,000 retail users.

Robinhood naturally needs no need to say that the leading retail trading platform in the United States has previously relied mainly on the stock and crypto trading revenue of retail investors in the United States. Some media analysts said that through the acquisition of Bitstamp, Robinhood obtained global market access in one fell swoop, avoiding a long process of license application and customer accumulation, and quickly expanded to Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia.

More importantly, with Bitstamp’s existing institutional clients, Robinhood can also convert institutional transaction volume into its new growth engine.

Institutional trading volume injects stable revenue streams into Robinhood, making up for the volatility of the retail market.

The significance of this transaction is also far beyond the numbers.

Robinhood not only saves huge costs of building its own global platform, but also wins the trust of institutions with Bitstamp's reputation for compliance. In terms of the market, this may also mark Robinhood's challenge to crypto giants such as Coinbase, and the strategy of focusing on both retail investors and institutions may reshape its brand positioning.

2.Stripe acquires Bridge Network: payment giant's crypto layout

Acquisition amount : US$1.1 billion

Acquisition business : Stablecoin

In early 2025, payment giant Stripe took the first step in the crypto space by acquiring stablecoin startup Bridge Network for $1.1 billion.

Bridge Network focuses on stablecoin infrastructure, providing cross-border payment and settlement solutions for enterprises, including small and medium-sized financial institutions.

As a global leader in online payments, Stripe has rarely made any moves in the field of encryption. This acquisition is obviously also the payment giant smelled the possible opportunities in stablecoins, and it is also more in line with the channels established by its own payment business.

Stripe's abacus is very smart: instead of spending several years of research and development, it is better to directly integrate Bridge's ready-made technology to accelerate the commercialization of crypto payments.

The acquisition of Bridge allowed Stripe to quickly acquire mature stablecoin technology and customer networks, avoiding complex processes such as developing payment blockchains from scratch and issuing stablecoins.

The deal makes Stripe more competitive in the global payments market, and will have a new bargaining chip in competition with PayPal and Square. At the industry level, Bridge’s stablecoin solution may drive crypto payments into the mainstream retail scenario.

However, although Stripe is large, entering the stablecoin market also requires balancing the compliance requirements of traditional financial customers and the crypto market; in the context of the high probability of passing the stablecoin GENIUS Act, this acquisition seems very forward-looking.

3.Coinbase acquires Deribit: fierce competition in the crypto derivatives

trading market

Acquisition amount : US$2.9 billion

Acquisition business : derivatives transactions

In May 2025, Coinbase acquired Dubai's crypto derivatives exchange Deribit for US$2.9 billion, setting a record for the largest cryptocurrency merger in history.

Deribit is the world's leading crypto options and futures platform, accounting for half of the options trading market, with its customers mainly institutions and high-net-worth investors; while Coinbase is the largest crypto exchange in the United States and has long been the overlord of spot trading. However, its derivatives business is relatively weak. The acquisition of Deribit allows Coinbase to directly inherit its mature trading system and institutional customer base, saving the long cycle of building its own derivatives platform.

Coinbase not only fills its business shortcomings, but also may become a leader in the global derivatives market, and its competition with Binance in contract trading will also become more intense.

At the same time, Deribit's compliance framework may promote the standardization of the crypto derivatives market and attract more institutions to enter. However, US$2.9 billion is not a small number. The high acquisition cost and integration difficulty will test Coinbase's operating capabilities. How to earn this money back still needs subsequent observations.

4. Kraken acquires NinjaTrader: Transformation from crypto to multiple

assets

Acquisition amount : US$1.5 billion

Acquisition business : derivatives trading (traditional market)

In March 2025, Kraken acquired the futures trading platform NinjaTrader for US$1.5 billion, moving towards a transformation from multi-asset trading.

NinjaTrader is a leading platform for retail futures trading, with a huge community of active traders covering traditional financial assets such as stocks, futures and forex.

As a veteran crypto exchange, Kraken has faced a bottleneck of user growth in recent years.

The acquisition of NinjaTrader allowed Kraken to quickly gain mature futures trading technology and user base, eliminating the resource investment of self-built multi-asset platform.

Kraken’s ambition is obvious: through mergers and acquisitions, it will quickly transform from a single crypto exchange to a comprehensive trading platform, attracting traditional financial users to enter the crypto market. The deal could reshape Kraken’s brand image and enhance its competitiveness in the North American market.

At the industry level, the further acceleration of the integration of crypto and traditional finance is an obvious trend; Kraken's acquisition measures have also given investors outside the crypto circle a new option for retail, that is, traders who are still using NinjaTrader can also get involved in crypto assets in the future;

The integration of currency stocks on one platform also makes users in the encryption circle have more diverse choices.

5.Ripple acquires Hidden Road: New Crypto King for Institutional Services

Acquisition amount : US$1.25 billion

Acquisition business : Institutional services

In April 2025, Ripple acquired Hidden Road, a major multi-asset broker for US$1.25 billion, becoming a pioneer in institutional services in the crypto industry.

Hidden Road provides brokerage services for institutions in stock, crypto and forex, with clients including hedge funds and asset management companies. Ripple, known for XRP and cross-border payments, has launched the stablecoin RLUSD in recent years.

The acquisition of Hidden Road allowed Ripple to directly acquire global brokerage network and institutional clients. Ripple not only enhanced the institutional application scenario of RLUSD, but also became the only crypto company with global multi-asset brokers. It also found its own place in the oligopoly market of USDT and USDC.

In terms of market influence, Hidden Road's compliance advantages may attract more institutions to enter the encryption field and promote industry standardization. However, Ripple's XRP lawsuit has not yet ended completely, and regulatory risks may affect the integration process.

Between mergers and acquisitions, a game of advance and retreat

Looking back at these major acquisitions that occurred in the first half of this year, it seems that this wave is not just a carnival of capital, but more like a game between entering and exiting.

On the one hand, there are crypto companies seeking to exit, eager to lock in profits through IPOs , acquisitions or mergers; on the other hand, there are traditional companies and "old money" capital, eager to enter this high-growth market through mergers and acquisitions .

Many crypto companies actually have the need to exit, and the way they exit is nothing more than IPOs and acquisitions.

IPO is a conspicuous path, such as stablecoin issuer Circle plans to go public in 2025 with a valuation of up to US$9 billion. Circle rejected Ripple's $5 billion acquisition proposal and chose an IPO for greater value, showing the confidence of mature crypto companies in the capital market.

However, IPOs are not the only way out.

Robinhood’s acquisition of Bitstamp for $200 million is actually a good example, where crypto companies sell to strategic buyers can quickly realize their value, especially for platforms with complete licenses and solid customer base.

The long cycle and high cost of self-built business have discouraged many small and medium-sized crypto companies or outside the circle, and selling them to big players has become a more realistic choice.

This exit boom also reflects signs of industry maturity: profit pressures and regulatory requirements are forcing companies to reevaluate long-term strategies.

At the same time, traditional enterprises and established capital are flocking in, viewing the crypto market as a new growth engine.

Payment giant Stripe enters the market, and similarly private equity companies and traditional financial giants ("Lao Qian") are also rushing through mergers and acquisitions.

A Financial IT report shows that in the first half of 2025, 88 crypto mergers and acquisitions totaled US$8.2 billion, almost three times the total transaction value in 2024.

The participation of traditional finance is increasing significantly.

These players are interested in not only technology, but also their ready-made customer networks, compliance frameworks and market share. Acquisition of mature companies allows them to gain a foothold in the shortest time, especially in the context of stricter regulation, where licenses and compliance become scarce resources.

The entry of traditional capital is blurring the boundaries between encryption and traditional finance and accelerating the legalization of the industry.

Overall, the author believes that the crypto merger and acquisition boom in 2025 is a two-way rush to exit and entry.

This reminds people of a sentence:

The encrypted circle is so big, and someone has to leave.