Coinbase has finalized its acquisition of Deribit for approximately $2.9 billion, solidifying its position as a dominant force in the crypto derivatives market. The deal, initially announced in May 2025, closed on Thursday and includes $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase Class A stock. This acquisition marks Coinbase's fifth acquisition of 2025.
Deribit, founded in 2016 by brothers John and Marius Jansen, has become the leading crypto options exchange, processing over $1 trillion in trading volume annually. In July 2025, Deribit recorded $185 billion in monthly trading volume, with open interest near $59 billion, demonstrating the growing demand for sophisticated crypto products. In 2024, Deribit's trading activity nearly doubled, climbing 95% year-over-year from $608 billion in 2023 to $1.185 trillion. Following the acquisition by Coinbase, the Jansen brothers are reportedly exiting the company.
The acquisition enables Coinbase to control the industry's largest derivatives book, allowing it to compete with global exchanges and serve institutional and retail traders seeking advanced market instruments. Deribit's platform offers inverse BTC and ETH options, USDC-settled contracts, and perpetuals on major altcoins. It also supports volatility futures and limited spot markets, including yield-bearing assets and tokenized gold.
Coinbase aims to create a platform that offers spot, futures, perpetuals, and options trading services. Deribit's strong performance and loyal customer base complement Coinbase's growing futures and perpetuals business.
Coinbase expects Deribit to contribute approximately $10 million in additional expenses to its technology and development, as well as general and administrative expenses in Q3 2025, excluding deal-related amortization. However, the company anticipates that Deribit will be Adjusted EBITDA accretive immediately after closing. The company has updated its Q3 financial outlook, initially provided in its July 31 shareholder letter, to reflect the Deribit acquisition, including consolidated results from August 14 through September 30.
This acquisition strengthens Coinbase's global strategy and enables access to a wider range of crypto trading instruments. The merger unifies spot, futures, perpetuals, and options trading into a cohesive ecosystem, enhancing liquidity, global scale, and institutional participation. In 2024, global Bitcoin and Ethereum futures totaled $33.5 trillion, highlighting the potential for Coinbase in the derivatives market.
Coinbase has been actively acquiring companies, with Opyn, a DeFi option trading platform, acquired in July 2025. Coinbase's acquisitions have primarily focused on cryptocurrencies and blockchain infrastructure.
