Crypto M&A picks up in May

Crypto M&A is on the rise, with a handful of acquisitions announced just last week

article-image

Labetskiy Alexandr/Shutterstock and Adobe modified by Blockworks

share

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


You know what’s better than big, splashy M&A deals? 

A bunch of smaller ones that show the appetite isn’t just isolated to the top. 

Take, for example, three M&A deals announced last week: Alchemy acquiring DexterLab, 0x buying up Flood, and Gnosis buying HQ.xyz

That means that, so far in May, we’ve already seen a handful of acquisitions. Just last week, we had announcements from Robinhood, Alchemy, 0x, Anchorage and Gnosis.

Source: Blockworks Research

We certainly fared better last year than we did the year prior, but we’re already on track to surpass 2021 levels, thanks to the mega-deals we’ve seen from the likes of Coinbase and Kraken. 

The majority of deals tend to fall in the “Finance” category, per Blockworks Research, which isn’t necessarily a surprise given that companies are looking to add to their toolboxes as crypto sees wider adoption and activity picks up.

Source: Blockworks Research

Both Robinhood and Anchorage’s respective deals last week gave some insight into how the firms are looking to develop their offerings: Robinhood gained a Canadian foothold, while Anchorage widened its stablecoin exposure (although it won’t continue Mountain’s yield-bearing stablecoin USDM). 

The Gnosis acquisition looks like a further foray into stablecoin payments, a la Anchorage. HQ.xyz, now Gnosis HQ, gives Gnosis the ability to offer stablecoin offramps, treasury oversight controls and accounting tool integrations. 

“If Gnosis Pay represents our commitment to empowering everyday consumers with self-custodial financial tools, Gnosis HQ completes that vision on the enterprise side: offering crypto-native teams and traditional businesses alike the tools they need to operate with autonomy, compliance, and clarity,” the team said.

Meanwhile, 0x is taking another step to stay competitive in the DEX aggregation space by acquiring Flood. This acquisition was of particular interest to me because it involves a firm buying up a competitor, and it speaks further to some activity I think we’ll see down the line as crypto really heats up. 

The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but 0x said it’s “consolidating our leadership in aggregation infrastructure, bringing together elite technical talent and pioneering routing architecture to accelerate the evolution of decentralized trading.”

But Alchemy’s acquisition of DexterLab is a bit of a different story. At first glance, my read is that Alchemy is acknowledging that firms want to build on Solana, and this acquisition gives them exposure to that play. 

Per CoinDesk’s report, the team said DexterLab will help the development of Web3 applications on Solana, which will help organizational demand. 

At this point, I might have to rethink calling it “M&A season” and instead call it crypto’s M&A year… But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Either way, these deals show that firms have the appetite to grow or consolidate their offerings, which is a very healthy sign for crypto. 


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (3).png

Research

Pear Protocol has proven its market fit through its pair-trading infrastructure, sustaining consistent trading activity despite recent headwinds. Its strategic pivot toward Hyperliquid integration represents a major growth catalyst amid industry consolidation. While short-term token unlocks present challenges, current valuations and liquidity conditions may offer compelling opportunities for investors.

article-image

As the Trump administration continues to test Fed independence, markets are beginning to react

article-image

An Aave interest rate shock prompted over 475,000 validators to exit and pushed stETH into a prolonged depeg

article-image

While Roman Storm’s team is set to present its case, it’s not yet clear if the Tornado Cash founder will testify

article-image

A wireless network inspired by lost drones is now helping telco carriers reach your phone indoors

article-image

The ETH products have notched $3.6 billion of net inflows from July 1 to July 22, Farside Investors data shows

article-image

With these levies, it’s cheaper for Japanese manufacturers to send cars to the US than it is for domestic makers to import parts from other countries