Crypto financial services hub Matrixport announced today that it has completed its all-cash acquisition of Crypto Finance AG's asset management department, which was previously part of the Deutsche Börse Group.
Deutsche Börse Group acquired a two-thirds majority stake in Crypto Finance back in June 2021, for a "moderate three-digit CHF million" price.
According to a September 30 announcement by Matrixport, the transaction has received all necessary regulatory approvals, including from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Crypto Finance's asset management department will be renamed Matrixport Asset Management AG. The report follows Matrixport becoming a crypto unicorn after a $100 million investment in the summer of 2021—leading to a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
Decrypt has reached out to Matrixport for comment and will update this article should they respond.
Switzerland-based Crypto Finance provides institutional-grade crypto investment solutions, managing the first FINMA-approved crypto fund and offering a range of crypto investment products and structuring capabilities.
Matrixport CEO and co-founder John Ge explained in a statement that "the acquisition enables clients access to compliant crypto asset management products and aligns with our strategy to expand services in Europe."
Crypto Finance’s former head of asset management Stefan Schwitter has been appointed CEO of Matrixport Asset Management. In a statement, Schwitter said that joining Matrixport “allows us to add value to the existing and future client base on a global level."
Christopher Liu, Matrixport’s Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Regulatory, said that "the acquisition expands our regulatory footprint in Switzerland and reflects our commitment to collaborating with regulators to review and refine virtual assets-specific regulations in the years to come." The report follows Matrixport filing for a Hong Kong license days before the deadline in February.
The acquisition follows a recent announcement about MatrixPort and Bitcoin (BTC) scalability solution exSat partnering. The two companies introduced nBTC—a wrapped Bitcoin anchored 1:1 with BTC, with the aim of increasing liquidity and enabling new financial applications like staking and lending with Bitcoin on exSat.
Editor's note: This story was updated on October 4 to reflect the fact that Matrixport acquired Crypto Finance AG's asset management department rather than Crypto Finance AG.