Authors: flowie, Fairy, ChainCatcher
Editor: TB, ChainCatcher
Recently, Coinbase announced it will acquire the cryptocurrency options exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion, which includes $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase Class A common stock. This breaks Kraken's $1.5 billion acquisition record, becoming the largest acquisition in cryptocurrency history.
As the largest cryptocurrency options exchange by market share, in the bull market of 2024, Bitcoin options trading volume and Ethereum options trading volume accounted for as much as 80% and 90% respectively. Why choose to retire bravely at this time? After Coinbase's astronomical acquisition of Deribit, how will the landscape of the cryptocurrency derivatives market be reshaped?
The legendary development of the options king Deribit
Deribit was registered in the Netherlands in 2016, co-founded by brothers John Jansen and Marius Jansen.
The establishment of a cryptocurrency options exchange originated from the practical needs of brother Marius, who was among the earliest Bitcoin investors needing to hedge risks; however, at that time, the derivatives market in cryptocurrency was still a blank slate, so he sought out his brother John, who has a background in options, to plan the startup. John has been involved in options trading since 1998, previously serving as a trader at the Amsterdam Options Exchange, and is currently the CEO of Deribit.
Deribit initially focused on Bitcoin options and futures trading, filling a gap in the cryptocurrency derivatives market at the time. In 2017, Deribit launched Bitcoin perpetual contracts, becoming one of the first exchanges to offer such products.
After 2018, the futures trading market began to grow, and Huobi and Binance also entered the futures market. Despite facing competition, since 2019, Deribit, which entered early, has become the world's largest Bitcoin options exchange due to its professional options experience and low fees, and it continues to dominate this market. By early 2020, Deribit's market share in Bitcoin options had reached as high as 86%.
Subsequently, Deribit also raised over $140 million through three rounds of financing to complete faster expansion. QCP Capital, Three Arrows Capital, 10T Holdings, and Akuna Capital are all among the investors behind it.
Although Deribit's user profile is primarily concentrated among demanding professional investors and institutional users, it has maintained a good reputation in its pursuit of growth, with very few negative reports.
In the bull market of 2024, Deribit once again experienced a significant surge, with its annual trading volume exceeding $1.1 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 95%. The options trading volume grew by 99%, while spot trading volume achieved an astonishing growth of 810%. The platform's daily trading volume once exceeded $1.9 billion, and the total open interest reached a historical high of $48 billion on November 28, 2024.
Deribit has also continued to consolidate its dominant position in the cryptocurrency options market, with its Bitcoin options trading volume previously accounting for over 80% of the total market trading volume, and its Ethereum options trading volume reaching as high as 90%.
Deribit's business spans 160 countries and regions around the world, and after obtaining a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in 2024, it has found new growth opportunities.
Why did Deribit choose to 'retire bravely' at its peak?
Throughout Deribit's growth, it has consistently faced two key issues: compliance challenges and growth bottlenecks.
In 2020, to avoid the strict KYC requirements of the EU, Deribit relocated its operational base to Panama. In 2023, in response to regulatory pressure, Deribit further moved to Dubai, and in February of this year, due to sanctions imposed by the EU, Deribit had to announce its exit from the Russian market.
Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers has repeatedly stated that as global regulatory frameworks continue to strengthen, many cryptocurrency trading platforms will exit the market due to high operating costs or being shut down by regulators, and Deribit itself faces similar challenges.
In addition to compliance challenges, how to break through the ceiling may be an even bigger problem for Deribit.
Deribit faces extremely limited growth potential in the cryptocurrency options market, and it also faces competition from other centralized exchanges that are continuously expanding their derivatives trading functions. Competitors like BitMEX, OKX, and Bybit are strengthening their derivatives layouts, and Kraken has also acquired NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. These competitors attract a large number of users by offering high leverage trading, user-friendly interfaces, and low trading fees. Additionally, the rise of decentralized exchanges (DEX) poses a certain competitive pressure on them.
In addition to maintaining its position in the cryptocurrency options market, Deribit's horizontal expansion in pursuit of growth is also not easy. The entire cryptocurrency industry currently lacks new liquidity, and major players like Binance and OKX are facing internal competition and growth dilemmas in various sectors. Under regulatory pressure and internal competition, this may mean that Deribit will have to spend higher operating costs for uncertain growth.
In this context, choosing to leverage a merger may be a step for Deribit from maintaining its position to breaking through.
Although Deribit has leading technology and market share in the cryptocurrency options field, its product line remains relatively singular. If merged with Coinbase, both parties could create a more comprehensive derivatives ecosystem through complementarity in spot, futures, and options.
For Coinbase, Deribit can bring approximately $30 billion in open interest and over $1 trillion in trading volume, significantly enhancing its competitiveness in derivatives; for Deribit, leveraging Coinbase's global user base and compliance advantages, especially in the U.S. market, will facilitate its internationalization.
This acquisition also occurred at a critical juncture of policy shift: Trump returning to the White House and promoting cryptocurrency-friendly policies, leading to a significant increase in market demand for compliant platforms. In this context, Deribit's choice to retire bravely at this time may be a wise decision to leverage opportunities and move towards the next growth curve.
How will Coinbase reshape the landscape of cryptocurrency derivatives?
Since 2014, Coinbase has completed at least 20 acquisition deals, and this acquisition of Deribit is the largest in its history. This not only marks a strategic upgrade for Coinbase but also highlights the accelerating trend of mergers and acquisitions in the cryptocurrency derivatives market.
Apart from Deribit, many derivatives platforms are also 'selling themselves.' On February 28, CoinDesk reported that BitMEX, an established cryptocurrency derivatives platform founded by Arthur Hayes, is also seeking to sell. Additionally, the startup Arbelos Markets was sold to the cryptocurrency brokerage FalconX.
The rapidly growing and maturing cryptocurrency derivatives market has become a battleground for major players. In 2024, the global average daily trading volume in the cryptocurrency derivatives market has exceeded $100 billion, with monthly trading volumes surpassing $3 trillion.
In 2024, Coinbase has also been actively expanding its derivatives business, adding more than 90 new assets on international exchanges to boost its derivatives trading volume. According to a report from CCData, Coinbase's market share in derivatives increased by 3.89% in 2024.
However, compared to building its own operations, mergers and acquisitions can be a fast and effective approach. By acquiring Deribit, Coinbase can quickly enhance the scale and competitiveness of its derivatives business and compete with global derivatives giants like Binance and Bybit.
This acquisition may have profound implications for the landscape of the cryptocurrency derivatives market. With increasing market concentration, other cryptocurrency exchanges may face strategic adjustments, and even a wave of industry consolidation may occur. At the same time, smaller exchanges will face greater competitive pressure and may even become marginalized.
Traditional financial institutions have long entered the cryptocurrency market through ETFs and derivatives, and the strong combination of Coinbase and Deribit will undoubtedly attract more institutional investors, further promoting the integration and intersection of traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market.
However, whether Coinbase can maintain Deribit's specialized and high-standard product style and effectively serve this market remains to be seen.
The cryptocurrency industry is welcoming a wave of mergers and acquisitions
According to data from RootData, as of 2025, there have been 47 M&A events in the cryptocurrency space, averaging 9 M&A events per month.
In the entire year of 2024, merger and acquisition events reached 105, setting a historical high, an increase of 36.3% from 77 in 2023.
In terms of acquisition amounts, as of 2024, there have been 8 acquisition cases exceeding $100 million, and acquisition amounts have consistently reached new highs. Just before Deribit was acquired for $5 billion, in March 2025, Kraken acquired the U.S. futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion.
As of 2024, over $100 million in merger and acquisition cases
With the maturation of the cryptocurrency market, the trend of industry consolidation is evident, and only a few platforms can ultimately stand out.
In the competitive market driven by incentives, giants quickly expand their products and services through acquisitions. For the acquired projects, in a situation where primary and secondary valuations are inverted, mergers and acquisitions can be a perfect exit strategy compared to issuing tokens.