(Bloomberg) —
Crypto.com, which has been grabbing headlines lately with its naming-rights deals, is expanding its footprint in another way: Buying two exchanges from financial services firm IG Group Holdings Plc.
The cryptocurrency platform agreed to acquire the North American Derivatives Exchange Inc. (Nadex) and IG’s nearly 40% stake in the Small Exchange Inc. for $216 million in cash, according to a statement from IG Group. IG Group shares rose as much as 1.8% in London.
The Small Exchange, which is based in Chicago and counts Citadel Securities, Jump Capital, Interactive Brokers Group Inc. and Peak6 Investments among its investors, recently added crypto-related futures to its product list. Nadex is a U.S. derivatives exchange for products including binary options and call spreads, and is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The proposed acquisition “will give our customers access to an entirely new set of financial tools,” said Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive officer of Crypto.com, in the company’s own statement.
The crypto market has exploded in the past year both in terms of asset prices and overall product offerings. Deals activity in crypto has surged as rivals scramble to grab market share. Just in the past few days, Coinbase Global Inc. announced a deal for Israeli cryptographic-security company Unbound Security and the team from crypto wallet firm BRD. In mid-November, Gemini Trust Co. did a fundraising round that valued it at $7.1 billion, and in October, Cboe Global Markets Inc. re-entered crypto by buying Eris Digital Holdings LLC.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022, subject to conditions including regulatory review, IG Group said in its statement.
“This deal supports IG’s strategic objectives by delivering a significant return on the previous investments made in Nadex and Small Exchange and now sharpening IG’s focus on growing and expanding the U.S. options and futures businesses” said June Felix, IG Group’s CEO, in the statement.
(Updates second paragraph with details about Small Exchange stake and adds IG Group shares.)
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