Crypto mergers and acquisitions expected to spike under second Trump presidency

Merger advisers and venture capitalists believe dealmaking will become easier with a change in SEC leadership but some hurdles will remain.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Former president Donald Trump is set to return to the White House in January after winning the election on Tuesday. During the campaign, Trump made several promises to the crypto community, one of which was to fire the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson Gary Gensler on the first day of his presidency.

Around six merger advisers and venture capitalists believe Trump will follow through on his promise to axe Gensler, who has used regulation through enforcement for years. Experts also believe that Trump could pave the way for more favorable crypto regulations.

In light of these forthcoming changes, merger advisers and venture capitalists told Bloomberg that they expect crypto merger and acquisition deals to pick up pace next year.

Casper Johansen, who heads The Spartan Group’s digital assets advisory business, said:

“With Trump in the White House, we expect 2025 to be a much stronger year for dealmaking”

According to Dragonfly Capital Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi, Trump’s victory and the change in SEC leadership will ease the fears of deals being blocked or business channels being declared illegal or legal action from the SEC.

Some investment bankers focused on digital assets said that they expect many CEOs to use takeovers to speed up expansion plans under the second Trump presidency.

Some crypto firms that have signaled plans for deals include brokerage FalconX and Tether, which operates the largest stablecoin. In June, Tether said it expected to invest $1 billion in deals over the next 12 months.

There’s also Stripe Inc., a fintech firm worth around $70 billion, which announced plans last month to acquire stablecoin startup Bridge for around $1.1 billion.

Some hurdles will remain

The uncertainty of U.S. regulations and the SEC were not the only challenges in executing merger or acquisition deals. A key reason deals fail is because buyers and sellers cannot agree on the valuations of the companies.

Most crypto companies raised funding during the bull run that ended in 2022. This means that their last funding valuations are far above the current market. If buyers and sellers cannot come to an agreement, the deals fall through.

However, Qureshi said:

“All things considered, I expect the next four years to be much more favorable than the last four.”

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