📅 July 16, 2025 | New York, USA
A multi-million-dollar deal has just reshaped the blockchain infrastructure landscape: Talos, the Citigroup-backed crypto infrastructure firm, has just acquired Coin Metrics for $100 million, as revealed by The Block. This move is no small feat: it unites one of the leading providers of connectivity for institutional trading with one of the largest references in on-chain analytics and market data. For the industry, the message is clear: traditional banking not only wants ETFs and custody, but now it's also going after control of the information that feeds traders, exchanges, and investment funds around the world.
To understand the impact, you need to know the key players. Talos was founded in 2018 as a platform to offer institutional cryptocurrency trading infrastructure: direct connectivity with exchanges, intelligent order routing, liquidity solutions, and custody services for traditional banks and funds. Backed by Citigroup, its expansion was meteoric: today it manages connections for more than 200 institutions, including firms such as Fidelity, Galaxy Digital, and dozens of hedge funds.
For its part, Coin Metrics has established itself as one of the most respected providers of on-chain data, network metrics, and fundamental analysis of blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and hundreds of other assets. Its dashboards and APIs feed everything from exchanges and funds to media outlets and universities researching the health of blockchain networks.
With this $100 million purchase, Talos not only absorbs cutting-edge technology, but also secures a de facto monopoly over a key area: data. From now on, the same firm that facilitates institutional trading will have under its umbrella the intelligence layer that defines trends, audits, and market signals. For many, it's the logical step toward becoming the Bloomberg of the crypto economy.
According to The Block, the transaction was sealed after weeks of negotiations in which Coin Metrics explored financing alternatives to scale its infrastructure in the face of the explosion in demand for data from ETFs, corporate treasuries, and DeFi developers. Citigroup, which already had a stake in Talos since 2022, reportedly gave the green light to close the deal and strengthen its control of the technology stack.
The market reaction was immediate. On networks like X and Telegram, traders celebrated the consolidation of two giants, but also raised eyebrows: "With so much concentrated power, who guarantees that data will remain neutral?" several analysts asked. For some maximalists, the risk is clear: if traditional banks control the infrastructure and data, blockchain's promise of radical transparency could be diluted.
But Talos executives insist that the goal is to raise standards of quality and transparency to attract more institutional investors. “The combination of robust infrastructure and reliable data is the foundation for more banks and funds to feel comfortable operating in crypto,” said CEO Ethan Feldman, quoted by The Block.
Topic Opinion:
Every time a traditional bank digs deeper into crypto infrastructure, the game changes. The Talos and Coin Metrics deal is a masterstroke to control the database that feeds the entire ecosystem: from retail traders to Wall Street ETFs.
This can be good: more standards, more trust, more inflow of serious capital. But it can also be a double-edged sword: the concentration of power goes against the decentralized DNA of blockchain. The challenge will be for Talos and Citi to balance business and neutrality. If they don't, the community will find open alternatives, as it always has.
💬Does this acquisition strengthen the crypto industry or pose a risk to on-chain data neutrality? Is it inevitable that banks will take over crypto infrastructure?
Leave your comment...
#CitiGroup #CryptoInfrastructure #BlockchainData #defi #CryptoNews