Coinbase's $2.9B Acquisition

Coinbase (COIN) now holds the crown for the largest crypto deal in history, agreeing to acquire Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options trading platform, for $2.9 billion.

Coinbase Acquires Deribit For $2.9 Billion

Coinbase (COIN) now holds the crown for the largest crypto deal in history, agreeing to acquire Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options trading platform, for $2.9 billion. The deal price consists of $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase Class A common stock.

We’ve covered the back and forth recently about who was going to acquire Deribit. First it was potentially Kraken then it looked like Coinbase. In both reports, prices were rumored to be in the $4-5 billion range. So either Deribit was never worth that much, or getting 11 million Class A COIN shares enticed them to take a lower price.

Either way, it’s a major steal for Coinbase which reports earnings today at market close.

Banks Can Buy & Sell Crypto For Customers Now

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said that national banks and federal savings associations are permitted to buy and sell customers' crypto assets on their behalf. The regulator also noted that banks can outsource crypto custody and trade execution services to third parties, essentially granting them greater flexibility in handling crypto, provided proper risk management is in place.

Big Ethereum Update

Yesterday, The Ethereum network successfully implemented the long-anticipated Pectra upgrade, incorporating 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) aimed at boosting [same thing as always] efficiency, scalability, and user experience. The hard fork was enough to awake some bulls, with ETH prices now outperforming BTC and other top altcoins within the last seven days. This release marks Ethereum’s most expansive update since The Merge in 2022.

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  • Jack Maller’s Strike launches 'Strike Lending', Bitcoin-backed loans for eligible U.S. customers (Bitcoin Mag)