In a $2.9 billion deal, Coinbase has agreed to acquire Deribit to strengthen its position in the U.S. crypto options market.
Author: Helen Brown | Edited by: Parikshit Mishra Updated: May 9, 2025, 7:18 AM Published: May 8, 2025, 1:28 PM
Coinbase has agreed to pay $2.9 billion for bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) options platform Deribit, marking its official entry into the lucrative U.S. cryptocurrency derivatives market, according to a press release.
The cryptocurrency exchange, along with rival Kraken, had been in talks to buy Deribit for months, with Bloomberg reporting that the options giant could be valued between $4 billion and $5 billion.
In turn, Kraken acquired US-based futures platform Ninja Trader for $1.5 billion, giving them the opportunity to compete with Coinbase in the US futures and derivatives space.
The Coinbase acquisition comes after a busy year in cryptocurrency deals as companies seek to establish themselves in a region that U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to make the “crypto capital of the world.”
The Deribit deal includes $700 million in cash and 11 million Class A shares of Coinbase, making it one of the largest deals in the industry and “[providing] the company with an immediate and dominant position in the emerging derivatives space amid expected growth in institutional adoption of digital assets,” according to a note from Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer.
Founded in 2016, Deribit quickly captured a significant share of the digital asset options trading market. The exchange processed $1.2 trillion in volume in 2024, up 95% from the previous year, the company reported in January.
UPDATE (May 8, 14:18 UTC): Added additional comments from Mark Palmer of Benchmark.
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