NYDIG acquires Digital Assets Data as crypto M&A looks poised to pick up

Bitcoin custody and trading services provider NYDIG announced Monday that it has acquired crypto data firm Digital Assets Data ahead of a bigger push to expand its platform. 

NYDIG is not as well-known as some more retail facing exchanges like Coinbase or Kraken, but the firm counts more than $4 billion in assets under management and operates a business that spans prime brokerage, corporate treasury, and custody services, as per its website. NYDIG made headlines in December when insurance giant Mass Mutual said that it had invested $5 million in the company, and utilized NYDIG services to acquire $100 million worth of bitcoin for its general insurance account. 

Digital Assets Data has raised more than $9 million from venture investors, including Morgan Creek Digital, Digital Currency Group, and North Island. In 2020, the firm's co-founder and chief operating officer—Kurt Fenstermacher—departed the firm, according to his LinkedIn

As for the acquisition deal, NYDIG says it will help the firm expand its data capabilities, according to a press release. While the firm declined to share any financial details of the transaction, the firm told The Block that Digital Assets Data's platform will "broaden NYDIG's digital asset data capabilities to provide even better insights to the firm and its clients."

"As NYDIG's client base and the digital asset market rapidly expand, the addition of new high-quality data sources and analytical capabilities serve to enhance NYDIG's existing research, trading, and advisory capabilities," the firm said in a statement shared with The Block. 

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Digital Assets Data's twin co-founders—Mike and Ryan Alfred—will be joining the NYDIG team as head of M&A and head of product, respectively. As head of M&A, Alfred will focus on identifying potential acquisition targets as NYDIG expects to "significantly" increase the volume of strategic acquisitions in 2021, the firm said. 

This deal is among the first of 2021—a year in which many market pundits expect to see a flurry of M&A activity. 

As noted by The Block Research's John Dantoni, data and analytics is one sector of the crypto market that is ripe for M&A activity. 

"With banks, traditional financial institutions, and fintechs entering the space with new crypto offerings, more consolidation amongst current market participants should be expected as they compete to be the premier source for information and data services," Dantoni wrote.

Dating back to 2016, there's been a total of 26 deals conducted in the crypto data and analytics space, totaling $460 million.

Disclosure: Digital Assets Data participated in a previous funding round of The Block.

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].