Talos to Buy Coin Metrics Amid Surge in Crypto M&A Activity

Talos, a provider of institutional trading technology, is buying data company Coin Metrics as it looks to widen its services for institutional investors, according to a company press release on Wednesday. The deal adds to a growing list of deals in the crypto M&A space this year. 

A Talos spokesperson would not confirm the size of the deal to Decrypt but several news outlets reported that it was valued at $100 million, citing unnamed sources. Talos said it was the largest deal in the company’s history.

Coin Metrics offers a crypto markets feed and other markets intelligence services. 

“By bringing our platforms together, we’re creating a fully integrated, one-stop solution that benefits the clients of both firms,” Talos CEO and co-founder Anton Katz said in a statement. “Institutions increasingly look to us to support the entire digital asset investment lifecycle, from trading and portfolio management to market data, on-chain analytics, and portfolio construction.”

The acquisition comes amid an upswing in the crypto M&A space as the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets surges. In May, Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., in May bought derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion in the industry’s biggest deal this year. COIN has completed multiple acquisitions this year. 

In April, Magic Eden said it would acquire Slingshot Finance, the mobile-first crypto trading application known for its cross-chain swaps and retail-friendly interface.

And San Francisco-based exchange Kraken said in March that it was buying futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. 

Talos provides technology allowing institutions to get involved in crypto. Last year, it acquired Cloudwall, a developer of digital asset risk technology and Skolem, a technology provider that allows institutional investors to connect with decentralized finance markets efficiently. 

Talos covers the full trading life cycle, including liquidity sourcing, price discovery, trading, settlement, lending, borrowing and portfolio management. It is the creation of Katz and Ethan Feldman who saw a need for a trading platform geared to institutional investors. In 2022, Talos raised $105 million in a series B funding round at a $1 billion valuation.