Exchanges aren't building licenses anymore — they're buying them.
7 acquisitions closed or signed in 2026 across 6 markets:
$KRAKEN → Bitnomial (up to $550M)
$HOOD → MIAXdx + WonderFi (C$250M)
SBI → bitbank (¥46.7B) + Coinhako
$BYBIT → NOBI
$BGB → GMO-Z (pending)
Regulatory moats > tech moats. Speed to market through M&A is the new meta.
7 acquisitions closed or signed in 2026 across 6 markets:
$KRAKEN → Bitnomial (up to $550M)
$HOOD → MIAXdx + WonderFi (C$250M)
SBI → bitbank (¥46.7B) + Coinhako
$BYBIT → NOBI
$BGB → GMO-Z (pending)
Regulatory moats > tech moats. Speed to market through M&A is the new meta.