{"id":151088,"date":"2021-01-10T03:58:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T00:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/top-crypto-mergers-and-acquisitions-of-2020\/"},"modified":"2021-01-10T03:58:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T00:58:00","slug":"top-crypto-mergers-and-acquisitions-of-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/top-crypto-mergers-and-acquisitions-of-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"# Top crypto mergers and acquisitions of 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

“# Top crypto mergers and acquisitions of 2020 <\/strong>”
\n<\/p>\n

The blockchain industry shrugged off the craziness of the 2020 pandemic, with many companies thriving in the \u201cremote\u201d working environments brought about by COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Almost $700 million in mergers and acquisitions took place in 2020 across 83 transactions. That\u2019s the largest number ever and a sizeable increase from the previous record of 69 M&A transactions in 2018. The majority of activity last year was within the industry itself, consolidating the sector with minimal engagement from external companies.<\/p>\n

More than 90% of the $691 million reported was comprised of the top three acquisitions by Binance ($400 million), FTX ($150 million) and Coinbase ($90 million).<\/p>\n

Binance\u2019s purchase of CoinMarketCap at the end of March 2020 for a reported $400 million equaled the largest blockchain acquisitions of all time, rivaled only by Circle\u2019s purchase of Poloniex and NXMH\u2019s purchase of Bitstamp, both for $400 million, in 2018.<\/p>\n

The leading exchange by volume received sharp criticism over the purchase, as it app<\/a>ears to represent a conflict of interest given that CoinMarketCap is a data and analytics company that provides comparative data about crypto exchanges, including Binance. <\/p>\n

Jack Purdy, an analyst for Messari, told Cointelegraph that the takeover sets a negative precedent for the industry, no matter how well either company behaves. \u201cIt does represent a fundamental conflict of interest that has negative externalities for the space,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s like if Joe’s Pizza came out with the top 10 pizza slices in New York and everyone that uses that list happens to be those least informed to make the decision on where to go.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cEven though Binance\/CMC can be completely well-intentioned, it’s impossible for ratings not to be influenced by the underlying bias of the creators. If there are objective weightings to a system that would hurt Binance’s standing, it’s more likely than not that it won’t be implemented.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Binance has claimed that both companies are individual entities and there is no bias from CMC. Despite the early criticism, it appears that sentiment toward the acquisition has softened in more recent months. In October 2020, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried voiced<\/a> his opinion on Twitter<\/a> that Binance was actually a lifesaver for CoinMarketCap:<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty much the day Binance bought CMC, it started getting better \u2014 a lot better. It has a lot of catching up to do, but the product has gone from hopelessly f—ed to competitive.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This wasn’t the only activity by the leading exchange, with Binance acquiring multiple other companies throughout 2019 and 2020, including crypto debit card provider Swipe for an undisclosed sum. Similar to CoinMarketCap, Swipe chief operating officer John Khenneth also\u00a0stated that \u201cThe deal was structured where Swipe is able to run the company independently from Binance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Binance acquisitions include Korea-based stablecoin company BxB<\/a>, decentralized app information platform DappReview\u00a0and Indian crypto exchange WazirX.<\/p>\n

In a recent press conference, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhou hinted that the company will acquire between 20 to 30 other companies in 2021, further strengthening its position in the crypto sector.<\/p>\n

Crypto exchange FTX, which only launched in 2019, was the only other company to conduct a nine-figure acquisition in 2020, with the purchase of portfolio management app Blockfolio for $150 million. <\/p>\n

The purchase has the potential to bring its 6 million users to the exchange. Although Blockfolio does not have as many unique users as CoinMarketCap, the level of user engagement is considerably higher, with more than 150 million impressions per month.<\/p>\n

Blockfolio co-founder and CEO Ed Moncada told Cointelegraph that the company will continue to function as an independent app.<\/p>\n

United States crypto exchange Coinbase actually leads the pack with the largest number of acquisitions to date \u2014 six more than Binance. The company has completed at least 16 deals in its history, with the most recent one being the acquisition of prime brokerage platform Tagomi for $90 million. <\/p>\n

According to reports, Tagomi had been struggling<\/a> with revenue as low as $1 million from its $1 billion in annual trading volume after it slashed trading fees.<\/p>\n

Publicly traded companies also got involved, with advanced software solutions company CleanSpark acquiring crypto mining firm ATL Data Centers for just under $20 million worth of the company\u2019s stock.<\/p>\n

Other notable acquisitions include Galaxy Digital\u2019s purchase<\/a> of digital-asset investment and borrowing platform DrawBridge Lending, as well as futures markets liquidity provider Blue Fire Capital. Although the figures were not disclosed, Galaxy Digital said that DrawBridge will end up with more than $150 million in third-party assets as a result.<\/p>\n

In September 2020, New York-based CB Insights announced it would soon open an office in Amsterdam as part of its acquisition of blockchain data provider Blockdata for an undisclosed sum.<\/p>\n

Smart contract provider TrustSwap also expanded its reach, acquiring one of its biggest competitors, Team.Finance.<\/p>\n

The recent acquisition of second-layer Ethereum scaling solution OMG Network by Hong Kong-based over-the-counter trading firm Genesis Block is said to help accelerate the network\u2019s development, with a specific focus on DeFi.<\/p>\n

PayPal was also looking to join the mergers-and-acquisitions party after enabling crypto purchases for the first time; however, talks to acquire crypto custody provider BitGo appear<\/a> to have now fallen through. Rumors suggest PayPal is in talks with other crypto companies.<\/p>\n

With the dramatic surge in decentralized finance this year, burgeoning DeFi protocols have also started merging. In November, Yearn.finance went on a collaboration and merger spree, including with market coverage provider Cover Protocol and lending protocol Cream Finance.<\/p>\n

Although acquisitions are often a sign of a thriving industry, they have led to some critics raising concerns over increasing centralization. Acquisitions of rivals by leading companies strengthen their control of the market, potentially reducing competition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n