Coinbase set to acquire data and analytics platform Skew for undisclosed sum

Crypto exchange Coinbase announced Friday that it will acquire data and analytics provider Skew for an undisclosed sum, its first acquisition deal following its blockbuster direct listing earlier this month.

Coinbase, which began trading publicly on April 14, will plug Skew's data -- which spans derivatives and spot volumes, charts, and information around bitcoin's volatility -- into its institutional prime brokerage platform, Coinbase Prime.

Skew's tools will compliment Coinbase's existing institutional product offering, which covers a range of products in custody and over-the-counter trading. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. 

"We know that access to high-quality data is essential for institutions assessing investments in crypto assets," Greg Tusar, VP of institutional product at the exchange operator said in a blog post. Coinbase acquired Tagomi last year in a deal that beefed up its suite of institutional products. Filings show Tagomi was valued at $77.2 million at the time of the deal. 

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Coinbase counts more than 7,000 institutions as clients with $122 billion in total assets, according to Tusar. 

Such a deal reflects a broader M&A wave sweeping crypto. PayPal acquired crypto custody firm Curv earlier this year and Galaxy Digital is rumored to have held talks with Coinbase rival BitGo. Competition in the crypto prime brokerage market will continue to fuel this wave, as noted by Eric Risley, managing partner at Architect Partners, in a recent blog. 

"The full set of capabilities are soon to be table stakes and are a necessity for institutional adoption of crypto assets," he wrote. "This is likely to be an area of significant M&A over the next 12 months with both crypto and fiat-native firms participating."

Earlier this year, Coinbase announced its acquisition of crypto infrastructure firm Bison Trails in a bid to build out a business akin to Amazon Web Services. Coinbase said in January that it acquired the trade execution platform Routefire.

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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].