Crypto broker FalconX buys Arbelos derivatives platform

FalconX, the crypto brokerage and trading company, has officially finalized its purchase of Arbelos Markets, a derivatives platform founded in 2023.

The deal reportedly involved a mix of cash and FalconX stock, though exact figures on Arbelos’ valuation remain locked up tighter than a Bitcoin cold wallet.

Now Arbelos came out swinging and raised $28 million in a funding round led by Dragonfly Capital just this May in the very first. FalconX was right there with its checkbook, alongside big names like Circle Ventures, Deribit, Paxos, and StarkWare.

The founders of Arbelos, Joshua Lim and Shiliang Tang, aren’t new to this. Lim has run desks at Galaxy Digital and Genesis Global Trading. Tang, meanwhile, was Chief Investment Officer at LedgerPrime, now known as MNNC Group. These are just your average “two dudes in a garage” founders.

But other major players are circling too. Take Stripe, for example. The payments giant just announced it’s acquiring stablecoin startup Bridge for $1.1 billion. Sequoia Capital, one of Bridge’s backers, saw its stake balloon fivefold in value after the deal.

Trump’s win ignites crypto deal fever

The acquisition ties perfectly into what the industry expects from President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly administration. Trump wants to make America the crypto capital of the planet. He’s also kicking out regulators who’ve been raining on crypto’s parade and replacing them with people who “get it.”

His return to the Oval has every crypto CEO thinking it’s time to go big or go home. His election win was backed by $135 million in crypto-funded political spending.

And if the market reaction post-election is anything to go by, things are looking up. Prices surged as soon as Trump’s victory became clear, with insiders saying it’s just the start of what’s to come.

But even with optimism running high, challenges remain. A lot of crypto firms are still privately held, which makes stock-based transactions a headache.

Valuations are also a sticking point; many companies raised money during the bull market of 2022, and those sky-high valuations don’t hold up today. Deals will require tough negotiations, and not everyone is going to get what they think they’re worth.

Meanwhile, other regions like Singapore, Dubai, and the European Union aren’t sitting around waiting for the U.S. to figure out its crypto policies. They’ve already put solid regulatory frameworks in place. Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework went live on December 30, though as we’ve reported, it’s not getting as much attention as the EU hoped.