Talos, the New York-based crypto infrastructure firm backed by the likes of Citi, a16z, and Fidelity, has acquired blockchain data provider Coin Metrics in a deal valued north of $100 million.
The deal reflects Talos’ ambition to become the go-to platform for institutions navigating the digital asset space. Talks began four months ago, and the deal has now closed, with no new capital raised to fund it.
“This is the next evolution for us,” CEO Anton Katz told Fortune. “Our bet is that digital assets are going to be the underlying technology of financial markets.”
Founded in 2018 by Katz and fellow Wall Street alum Ethan Feldman, Talos offers trading infrastructure that plugs into both centralized exchanges like Coinbase and decentralized venues like Uniswap. The firm was last valued at $1.25 billion after a 2022 Series B.
Coin Metrics, based in Boston, brings a trove of historical and on-chain data to the table—something Talos sees as essential as institutional clients demand a more complete trading and analytics stack. Katz said he’s known the Coin Metrics team since both firms got off the ground.
The data platform raised $35 million in 2022 from investors including BNY Mellon, Goldman Sachs, Brevan Howard Digital, and Cboe Global Markets. Its CEO, Tim Rice, called the deal “a natural fit” as digital asset markets scale and mature.
“Institutions increasingly look to us to support the entire investment lifecycle,” Katz said. “Combining our teams and technologies delivers a uniquely powerful platform.”
The move comes as crypto M&A accelerates amid improving regulatory clarity in the U.S. under the Trump administration and a push to consolidate infrastructure before the next bull cycle.
This year alone, Coinbase snapped up Deribit for a record $2.9 billion, Kraken took over NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, and Ripple bought Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. Stripe moved into stablecoins with a $1.1 billion buyout of Bridge, while Robinhood recently sealed a $200 million deal for Bitstamp and announced plans to acquire WonderFi in Canada for $179 million.
Talos has been busy too. In the past 18 months, it acquired portfolio platform D3X Systems, risk firm Cloudwall, and DeFi infrastructure player Skolem—none of which disclosed financial terms.
Despite the setbacks of the 2022–2023 bear market and ongoing caution from some U.S. institutions, Talos managed to build an enviable cap table. Alongside Citi and a16z, backers include PayPal Ventures, BNY Mellon, Castle Island Ventures, and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital.
Asked whether an IPO is on the table—particularly following Circle’s blockbuster debut—Katz was noncommittal. “We’re not ready to make any strong commitments,” he told Fortune.
