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Crypto Firm Bakkt Reports $1.5B in Impairment Losses in Q3

by Blockchain NewsNovember 10, 2022

Georgia-based crypto trading company Bakkt Inc has released the results of its third quarter ending September 30, showing a net revenue of $12.9 million increase of 41% year-over-year.

The trading platform said its impressive net revenue was born out of an improvement in travel loyalty redemptions.

Though the immediate impacts of the crypto winter had abated in Q3, most crypto firms still faced notable headwinds during that period.

For Bakkt, it said its operating expenses came in at $1.6, a figure that soared year over year. According to the New York Stock Exchange-listed firm, the bogus expense was fueled by the $1.5 billion impairment it recorded “due to the elongated timing for expected cryptoasset product activations and the decline in our market capitalization.”

Overall, Bakkt said its business saw significant growth with a total transaction account of 678,000, an increase of 21% year-over-year.

“Our focus on execution is paying off and we are proud to have initial activations with our crypto capabilities. We are working closely with our partners to bring even more of them to market in the near term,” said Bakkt CEO and President Gavin Michael said in a statement.

Bakkt made the news recently when it unveiled it has signed an agreement to acquire Apex Crypto LLC, a subsidiary of Apex FinTech Solutions Inc. The transaction was valued at $200 million and is billed to steer the company into the digital currency payment ecosystem, and constituted a major highlight of the firm’s business for the third quarter.

“We are thrilled about the signing of the acquisition of Apex Crypto, which we expect will accelerate our growth plans post-close as it will significantly expand our client verticals and cryptocurrency product offering. We believe that Apex Crypto will be highly complementary with our platform and the acquisition will ultimately help us deliver long-term sustainable value for our partners, customers, and shareholders,” Gavin said.

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Bakkt Has Agreed to Acquire Apex Crypto for $200M

by Blockchain NewsNovember 3, 2022

Publicly listed Bitcoin firm Bakkt has agreed to pay the sum of $200 million as it looks to acquire Apex Crypto LLC, a subsidiary of Apex FinTech Solutions Inc.

By being a part of the Bakkt brand, Apex Crypto will help to bolster the business operations of the parent firm, drawing on its unique infrastructure to help bridge the gap between companies in the mainstream sector and those in crypto.

According to the terms of the deal, Bakkt will be paying the sum of $55 million in cash outright while paying $45 million when Apex Crypto meets its financial targets for the end of the Fourth Quarter (Q4) this year.

“We found a unique asset in Apex Crypto, which will expand our crypto client base, provide us with faster speed to market for new crypto capabilities, and serve as an additional avenue for continued sales to a crypto-savvy audience through Apex Fintech Solutions,” said Gavin Michael, CEO of Bakkt.

“With the addition of this complementary business, we believe we are poised to be a crypto provider of choice for financial institutions, fintechs, merchants or loyalty programs that want to offer seamless crypto experiences to their customers. It’s also expected to enable us to unlock more innovative opportunities that appeal to the next generation of consumers such as crypto rewards and NFTs.”

Bakkt went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) back in October last year, setting a whole new agenda for the company in the Web3.0 world. The company has not sat on its oars over the past few years, launching innovative products to serve both its institutional and retail customers.

From partnering with Starbucks to floating a crypto product with Galaxy Digital, Bakkt has ingrained its footprint across the length and breadth of the digital currency ecosystem. The deal with Apex Crypto will contribute to bolstering these footprints when it closes following regulatory approvals.

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Tagged : APEX CRYPTO / Bakkt / Finance / M & A

Coinsquare Acquires CoinSmart to Float a Dominant Crypto Exchange in Canada

by Blockchain NewsSeptember 24, 2022

Top Canadian cryptocurrency asset trading platform, Coinsquare has entered into a decisive agreement with CoinSmart Financial Inc to purchases the crypto trading platform.

According to the development, Coinsquare acquired all issued and remaining equity of wholly-owned operating subsidiary Simply Digital Technologies Inc. This is the unit that owns and operates the CoinSmart trading platform. Consequently, the acquisition and integration of the platform will make Coinsquare become one of the biggest and leading trading platforms in Canada.

Following the acquisition, CoinSmart will own about 12% of Coinsquare on a Pro-formal level, and the firm would benefit from considerable revenue and cost synergies through cross-selling opportunities and expense optimization. Meanwhile, Coinsquare is coming close to its application to become Canada’s first licensed crypto asset trading platform as an Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) dealer and marketplace operator.

Coinsquare CEO Martin Piszel expressed that the acquisition represents a monumental and exciting milestone for both companies and brings together two industry-leading management teams.

What are the Benefits of the Transaction?

The firm will become one of Canada’s Largest Crypto Asset Trading Platforms, with a total user base of over 1 million and over $10 billion in crypto transactions since January 2018. Similarly, via CoinSmart’s Get Smart Hub, the community will have a reliable source for information and learning resources about cryptocurrencies, making learning simple and available to everyone.

Coinsquare will leverage the purchase to enhance speed-to-market, thereby combining technologies to optimize the tech stack and bring new features, functionality, and products to market faster. The platform will also have a peculiar payment system such as SmartPay. This will be an easy way to receive crypto payments by converting crypto to fiat with same-day payouts.

CoinSmart CEO Justin Hartzman has expressed his opinion regarding the deal. The CEO lends his excitement;

“We are thrilled to be working alongside the Coinsquare team to build one of the largest regulated crypto asset trading platforms in Canada and I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished so far.”

CoinSmart is a leading Canadian-headquartered crypto asset trading platform dedicated to providing customers with an intuitive way of buying and selling digital assets.

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Tagged : COINSMART / Coinsquare / Exchanges / M & A

Ripple Discloses Interest in Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius Network

by Blockchain NewsAugust 11, 2022

Blockchain payments firm, Ripple Labs Inc, is reportedly interested in the bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius Network.

As reported by Reuters, a company spokesperson gave insight into the company’s interest but failed to state in what capacity the payments unicorn hopes to show interest.

“We are interested in learning about Celsius and its assets and whether any could be relevant to our business,” the spokesperson said, a statement that is fueling speculation that Ripple may be considering a bailout stake.

The spokesperson affirmed that Ripple has been exploring avenues to grow strategically during this long-drawn crypto winter, and the firm “is actively looking for M&A opportunities to strategically scale the company,” the spokesperson said.

According to the Reuters report, Ripple has shown its interest by filing an application for it to be represented in the ongoing Celsius bankruptcy hearing. The application was granted earlier this week, a situation giving Ripple first-hand knowledge of the company’s current liabilities and how it may likely benefit in the event of a partnership or buyup.

Ripple is not entirely free of struggles as it has been in a long-drawn legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the sales of XRP coins as security. While pundits have tipped Ripple to win the SEC in the long run, the case has largely slowed Ripple’s growth and business expansion in the United States over the past 2 years.

Celsius Network went bankrupt on the backdrop of a general collapse of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, a situation that has also impacted other crypto lenders, including Voyager Digital and BlockFi. Celsius, at the time when it halted withdrawals back in June, got an offer of acquisition from the more liquid lender, Nexo, however, the firm played mute and never responded to the proposal at the time.

Besides Ripple, other major outfits that have shown interest in Celsius Network include Goldman Sachs. None has made a formal offer to acquire the platform as of the time of this report.

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Tagged : Celsius Network / Exchanges / M & A / Ripple

CoinSmart Is on the Hunt to Buy Distressed Crypto Assets

by Blockchain NewsAugust 4, 2022

CoinSmart Financial Inc., a crypto asset trading platform based in Toronto, Canada, announced on Wednesday that it is on the hunt to buy crypto startups in Canad6a, Europe, and the US, according to Bloomberg.

In an interview, CoinSmart Chief Executive Officer Justin Hartzman said that the crypto-asset trading platform is sifting through distressed assets, custodial-services companies, and other exchanges and payment platforms.

“M&A is an interesting thing, something that I spend a lot of time on. The high cost of regulation — or lack of regulation — allows the firm to jump in and find some properties or some targets that are really advantageous to our growth there,” the executive stated.

Hartzman said the ongoing turmoil times have allowed CoinSmart to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the company. “Across the board, over 56% of volume retail dropped internationally across all platforms,” he said. “We’re closer to a 30% reduction in volume.”

From the look, CoinSmart is using this market correction to buy distressed assets for cents on the dollar to revamp its business or initiatives it is planning on building for the next few years.

By leveraging its cash and corporate balance sheets to execute distressed asset purchases, CoinSmart is coming up with new and creative ways to expand its portfolio across the crypto ecosystem.

The Toronto-based firm has not been immune to the market plunge that has pushed some lenders and hedge funds, such as Celsius Networks, Voyager Digital, and Three Arrows Capital, among others, into bankruptcy.

According to Hartzman, CoinSmart’s shares have lost about three-quarters of their value this year, shrinking its market capitalization to just C$14 million ($11 million).

So far, the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, has appeared to be the greatest survivor of the recent chaos.

Earlier last month, FTX signed a deal to bailout crypto lending platform BlockFi and announced it was open to considering buying other troubled crypto firms to stem potential credit contagion amid the prolonged bear market.

Bankman-Fried has acted as a lender of last resort during the recent crypto meltdown, with his trading company, Alameda Research, providing a revolving credit facility to Voyager Digital.

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Tagged : ACCUSATIONS / COINSMART FINANCIAL INC / Crypto Assets / Finance / M & A / Market Crash

FTX Denies Making Internal Deliberations on How to Acquire Robinhood

by Blockchain NewsJune 28, 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Derivatives Exchange is reportedly making internal deliberations on how to acquire Nasdaq-listed brokerage firm Robinhood Markets Inc. However, FTX denied its claims.

Bloomberg reported earlier, citing people familiar with the deliberations, that the crypto behemoth has not made a formal offer to acquire Robinhood at this time, and one of the sources says the final decision may change in the coming days.

“We are excited about Robinhood’s business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them,” Bankman-Fried said Monday in an emailed statement, according to Bloomberg, “that being said, there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood.”

Robinhood’s stock has once surged by 15% after Bloomberg reported that FTX was looking to acquire the popular trading app, Its share price closed at $9.12, was up 14%.

Beyond the world of cryptocurrencies, a lot of tech startups across the globe have been experiencing a massive devaluation owing to the gloomy global economy. While the world is yet to recover from the pangs of the Coronavirus pandemic fully, the Russian invasion of Ukraine further aggravated the economic turmoil.

Amidst these, Robinhood which attained its fame during the active COVID-19 years has seen as much as three-quarters of its share price erased in the past year as brokerages particularly took a hit. While Robinhood has not declared it is struggling to keep its business running, there is evidence pointing to the fast declining rate of transactions and revenue across the board.

The first impression that suggested FTX might be interested in Robinhood came when Sam Bankman-Fried’s wholly controlled entity, Emergent Fidelity Technologies acquired a 7.6% stake in Robinhood last month, a move that sent the shares of the company soaring at the time.

FTX and its American subsidiary FTX US has been very active on the Merger & Acquisition (M&A) scene in the past year. Most of the company’s acquisitions have been centred on outfits that can further help advance its brand name as a leader in the trading and financial services sector. The most recent acquisitions include LedgerX and Embed, a regulated clearing startup.

Should the acquisition of Robinhood become a thing, the FTX exchange would have doubled its position in both the cryptocurrency ecosystem as well as the mainstream stock markets.

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Tagged : Exchanges / FTX / M & A / Robinhood / Sam Bankman-Fried

BitMEX’s Bid Fails to Acquire 268-Year Old German Bank

by Blockchain NewsApril 1, 2022

Crypto exchange BitMEX’s plan to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt, one of oldest banks in Germany, has failed to go through.

Bankhaus von der Heydt was established in 1754. A German media outlet announced on Thursday that the mutual agreement that the two parties about the acquisition have been called off. BitMEX spokesperson disclosed in a statement:

“After further discussions between BXM Operations AG and the owner of Bankhaus von der Heydt, the two parties have mutually and amicably decided to discontinue the proposed acquisition. We look forward to sharing details of our future plans in due course,”

In January, BitMEX announced plans to buy the 268-year-old private bank based in Germany. However, the sale was subject to the approval of the German financial regulator, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

Although the report did not mention the reason for the cancellation of the deal, Alexander Höptner, the German CEO of BitMEX, confirmed that both parties discontinued the mutually agreed plan.

Through the sale, BitMEX would have acquired a banking license in Germany, where regulated entities are permitted to custody of digital assets, and offered a crypto business unit for the Munich-based bank. BitMEX wanted to develop a strong presence in the European market by establishing a one-stop-shop for cryptocurrency products in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The exchange also hoped that the acquisition would have helped it rank among the best crypto trading platforms of the top ten cryptocurrency exchanges by volume.

BaFin’s involvement is suspected resulting in the cancellation. BaFin approval was known as a difficult process to win, especially after a series of recent fintech scandals in Germany, including those associated with Wirecard and Greensill Bank.

BitMEX is expected to complete the sale in the middle of this year.

Expanding Customer Service Capabilities

In late 2020, BitMEX faced a lot of challenges when the U.S. Justice Department and the Commodities Futures Trade Commission (“CFTC”) slammed the exchange and its principals with a coordinated criminal and civil prosecution.

In August last year, BitMEX agreed to pay $100 million to resolve the criminal charges. Since then, the platform remained committed to continuing its growth and opening a new chapter in its development. In the recent past, the exchange sought additional licenses in a number of jurisdictions and broadened its offer with five new business segments, including spot, custody, and brokerage capabilities, as well as information products, and an academy that enables users to learn about crypto trading.

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Tagged : Acquisition / Bankhaus Von Der Heydt / Bitmex / Enterprise / M & A

Fireblocks Acquires Stablecoin Payments Startup- First Digital

by Blockchain NewsFebruary 17, 2022

Fireblocks, a digital asset custody, transfer, and settlement platform, has announced its acquisition of First Digital, which is a stablecoin, and digital asset payments technology platform, in a deal whose financial detail was not revealed.

As the company unveiled, the acquisition will strengthen the Fireblocks’ payment offering by granting access to all of its Payment Service Providers (PSPs) in its network to accept and conduct their businesses through digital currencies. The acquisition will help all the PSPs within the Fireblock ecosystem in response to the surging demand amongst retail investors for crypto-related payments.

“We’re thrilled to welcome First Digital to the Fireblocks family as we accelerate our expansion plans to help every business become a crypto business. We’re pushing ‘fast forward’ to give PSPs the suite of tools they need to begin accepting crypto payments,” said Michael Shaulov, CEO and Co-Founder.

Fireblocks is currently valued at $8 billion following its $500 million funding round in January. Its deep liquidity arguably paved the way for this acquisition. The deep capital has also positioned the Fireblocks startup as the highest-valued digital asset infrastructure provider globally. This designation will bolster its plans to champion the emergence of a new digital payments enterprise.

Following the acquisition, the First Digital team will join the Fireblocks engineering team, adding their knowledge and expertise in the payments space to the latter firm’s growing tech stack. Ran Goldi, the Chief Executive Officer, will also assume a new role as the Vice President of Payments at Fireblocks.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are becoming a very prominent trend in the digital currency ecosystem today. To maintain a balanced stance in being prepared for the onboarding of the following 1 billion users that will enter the digital currency ecosystem, firms with adequate backing from Venture Capital (VC) firms like FTX Derivatives Exchange have been making several strategic acquisitions last year.

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Tagged : Enterprise / Fireblocks / FIRST DIGITAL / M & A

Crypto Sector M & A Saw Almost 5000% Jump in 2021: PwC

by Blockchain NewsFebruary 10, 2022

The cryptocurrency industry saw a 4,864% jump in the value of mergers and acquisitions in 2021, Bloomberg reported citing a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The report stated that the deals were partially driven by special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deals and the average deal size touched $179.7 million from $52.7 million. Also, crypto fundraising deal value witnessed a rise of 645%.

Among all investors, the report added that the top notable five investors by deal count were AU21, Genesis Block Ventures, Genblock Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Moonwhale.

Henri Arslanian, PwC crypto leader, noted that currently there are no signs of crypto fundraising slowing down and some valuations have hit levels “that are often difficult to justify.”

In an October 2021 report, Bloomberg Law stated that the 2021 mergers & acquisitions and investment data showed a surge in deals involving entities with a nexus to crypto.

The report added that the surge reflects both the record levels of deal activity in 2021 and the bigger trend of a growing number of businesses taking an interest in cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets.

It went to elaborate that year to date, 577 deals involving at least one party with “crypto” included in its entity description had announced and closed or were currently pending – the highest total for such deals since they began to show up at a noticeable level around 2017.

Last year, $12.6 billion crypto deal volumes were involved in technology sector targets, and $7.6 billion were involved in financial sector targets. While in 2020, crypto companies inked almost $700 million in mergers and acquisitions across 83 transactions.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Crypto / Cryptocurrency / Finance / M & A / PWC

Crypto Sector M & A Surges Almost 5000% Jump in 2021: PwC

by Blockchain NewsFebruary 10, 2022

The cryptocurrency industry saw a 4,864% jump in the value of mergers and acquisitions in 2021, Bloomberg reported citing a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Among all investors, the report added that the top notable five investors by deal count were AU21, Genesis Block Ventures, Genblock Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Moonwhale.

Henri Arslanian, PwC crypto leader, noted that currently there are no signs of crypto fundraising slowing down and some valuations have hit levels “that are often difficult to justify.”

In an October 2021 report, Bloomberg Law stated that the 2021 mergers & acquisitions and investment data showed a surge in deals involving entities with a nexus to crypto.

The report added the surge is a reflection of both the record levels of deal activity in 2021 and the bigger trend of a growing number of businesses taking an interest in cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Crypto / Cryptocurrency / Finance / M & A / PWC