<\/p>\n
Crypto partnerships continued in 2023 as companies sought to expand geographically, add capabilities or reach new audiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Others ended amid regulation-related concerns.<\/p>\n
There were a range of collaborations, as some featured only crypto firms. Others involved a traditional finance player looking to get more involved in the segment by partnering with a more specialized company \u2014 a growing trend in recent months.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
More traditional financial institutions entered the crypto and blockchain segments via link-ups with segment firms, noted Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear they increasingly understand the utility of distributed ledger technology at a minimum, and increasingly of public blockchains themselves,\u201d Thorn said of such companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Traditional finance giant Deutsche Bank, for example, said in September it was looking to build digital asset custody and tokenization services<\/a> through a new partnership with Switzerland-based crypto infrastructure provider Taurus.<\/p>\n More recently, asset manager DWS said it would collaborate with crypto firm Galaxy and trading specialist Flow Traders to introduce a stablecoin<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Switzerland-based St. Galler Kantonalbank launched crypto custody and trading services by teaming up with AMINA Bank (formerly known as SEBA Bank).\u00a0<\/p>\n Caspar Sauter, co-founder of decentralized exchange D8X, previously told Blockworks<\/a> he expects more traditional banks to start offering crypto-related services by leveraging services by AMINA, Sygnum Bank, AlphaPoint and others.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly in jurisdictions where progressive and clear regulatory frameworks are emerging, traditional institutions are beginning to deploy the technology,\u201d Thorn told Blockworks.<\/p>\n Austria-headquartered Raiffeisen Bank is reportedly getting set to offer crypto trading to retail customers after signing a letter of intent to collaborate<\/a> with crypto platform Bitpanda earlier this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ilya Volkov, CEO of crypto platform YouHodler, called the move another \u201cbold and very important trend\u201d of partnerships between traditional banks and crypto companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[It\u2019s] an absolutely logical step for traditional giants not to spend years and billions on the development of the technology and infrastructure, but instead partner with someone who has already built, tested and polished them during the last five to seven years,\u201d he added. \u201cThis is a real step to mass adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n Mainstream tech companies have also been a part of crypto-centric deals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Immutable partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS)<\/a> to streamline blockchain gaming infrastructure for developers, while Samsung Electronics and the Bank of Korea are together exploring<\/a> offline CBDC<\/a> technology.<\/p>\n Stablecoin issuer Circle<\/a> was busy in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company had partnered<\/a> with Visa in December 2020. Visa revealed in September<\/a> it can now send USDC-denominated payouts to Worldpay and Nuvei through Visa\u2019s Circle Account. Those merchant banks can then route these payments in USDC to their end merchants.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe this collaboration indicates a significant shift in the financial industry, because it will simplify and decrease the costs of card products,\u201d Volkov told Blockworks. \u201cIt may even unlock emerging markets currently having limited access to global systems like SWIFT.\u201d<\/p>\n Circle \u2014 along with Aave Companies, Coinbase and others \u2014 were among the founding members of the Tokenized Asset Coalition, launched in September. The members \u201caim to bring the next trillion dollars of assets on-chain through real-world asset tokenization<\/a>, education and advocacy,\u201d according to a news release at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n This new organization came a few weeks after Coinbase took an equity stake in Circle<\/a> as part of an arrangement that involved shuttering the governance group created five years ago to oversee USDC.<\/p>\n Tokyo-based financial firm SBI Holdings said in November it was partnering with Circle to circulate USDC, establish a banking relationship and promote the use of the stablecoin issuer\u2019s Web3 services in Japan.<\/p>\n Even more recently, Brazil-based Nubank partnered<\/a> with Circle earlier this month to extend USDC exposure to its customers in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though an acquisition, Ripple\u2019s buy of crypto custody firm Metaco<\/a> for $250 million in May was one of the most significant collaborations of the year, Volkov argued.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>The year\u2019s most significant crypto M&A deals \u2014 and how 2024 might shape up<\/a><\/p>\n Combining a payment tech firm with a crypto company focused on custody could speed up the adoption of blockchain rails for global payment processing, the YouHodler CEO said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thorn added: \u201cThere has been some consolidation in the crypto market infrastructure ecosystem, and it\u2019s likely that will continue or accelerate as the industry matures. This could lead to a growth in M&A transactions, venture and strategic investing, or joint ventures.\u201d<\/p>\n Other partnerships worth mentioning include those between<\/a> crypto exchange OKX<\/a> and Polygon<\/a> Labs, as well as one involving Uniswap Labs and Talos<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the fund space more specifically, Grayscale Investments<\/a> and Galaxy Digital forged partnerships in a bid to build out their crypto product lineups.<\/p>\n Grayscale, perhaps best known for its flagship Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), said in October it would work with index provider FTSE Russell<\/a> to create indices across various crypto sectors.<\/p>\n Galaxy in April partnered with Germany-based DWS<\/a> in an effort to boost international distribution capabilities and extend its reach in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n The partnership between Ark Invest and 21Shares \u2014 though formed before this year \u2014 evolved in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two fund issuers first joined forces in 2021<\/a>, filing for a spot bitcoin ETF<\/a>. The SEC<\/a> denied the firms\u2019 proposed fund in March 2022 and blocked a second attempt from the companies in January. The two firms then re-filed for a bitcoin ETF in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n As they continue to pursue a spot bitcoin ETF \u2014 and expect the SEC to rule on their proposal by Jan. 10 \u2014 the firms launched a crypto suite last month<\/a> comprising futures-based funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> Ark anticipates win in US crypto ETF battle with \u2018deepest\u2019 suite, COO says<\/a><\/p>\n While some partnerships emerged or progressed, others ended.\u00a0<\/p>\n Checkout.com stopped servicing crypto exchange Binance<\/a> as a payment service provider in August \u2014 reportedly noting in letters to the company that it was cutting ties due to regulatory concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n Similarly, Mastercard confirmed to Blockworks that month the card pilot programs the payments giant had with Binance<\/a> \u2014 located in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Bahrain \u2014 would end in September.<\/p>\n The US Department of Justice ultimately hit Binance with $4.3 billion <\/strong>in fines and forfeitures<\/a> after the exchange pleaded guilty to operating as an unlicensed money transmitting business and failing to comply with registration requirements.<\/p>\n Then-CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws<\/a> and agreed to step down from his chief executive post.<\/p>\n Binance named a new CEO<\/a> and continues to operate.<\/p>\nLink-ups involving stablecoin issuer Circle<\/h2>\n
Crypto-crypto partnerships<\/h2>\n
Partnerships that ended<\/h2>\n
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