Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the situation on January 14, reported that Deribit’s options trading platform has attracted interest from buyers. Deribit is also working with FT Partners in order to identify strategic opportunities.
Platform trading has seen an explosive growth, and its trading volume is expected to nearly double by 2024. Deribit has been servicing institutional clients via its Dubai entity Deribit FZE since this year. Meanwhile, a Panamanian affiliate manages retail customers.
The sources said that FT Partners, initially retained in early 2023 to arrange secondary stock sales for Deribit’s investors, has expanded its role to include assessing potential bids for the entire firm.
Deribit may not be officially for sale but it has received strategic investment interest from a variety of parties. According to a company statement,
“Over time, we have received interest in strategic investments from a variety of parties, which we will not disclose.”
Kraken reportedly considered acquiring Deribit, but decided against it. One source estimates Deribit’s valuation could range from $4 billion to $5 billion. FT Partners, Kraken and Kraken have declined to make any comment.
Deribit, according to CoinGlass statistics, had recorded over $26 billion monthly volume of Bitcoin trading (BTCEthereum (ETHOptions contracts after Jan. 13
Surging M&A moves
The interest in Deribit comes amid a surge in crypto-related mergers and acquisitions (M&A), fueled in part by a post-election rally in digital asset markets.
Publicly announced M&A activity in the crypto sector climbed to $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, a sharp increase from $400 million during the same period a year earlier, according to Architect Partners.
MoonPay, Chainalysis and FalconX have all acquired companies in recent months.
President-elect Donald Trump’s favorable stance toward digital assets has further buoyed the industry. He has pledged to establish the US as an international hub for cryptocurrency innovation.
With significant interest from potential buyers and a thriving business model, Deribit is poised to play a central role in the next phase of crypto M&A development.
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