Free NewsletterGet the hottest Fintech Switzerland News once a month in your InboxQ4 2024 witnessed a remarkable resurgence in the cryptocurrency market, highlighted by bitcoin surpassing the historic US$100,000 milestone on December 05.This surge was fueled by significant events, notably Donald Trump’s election victory, which spurred expectations of a pro-crypto regulatory shift. South Korea also played a key role in the global trading surge, driven by an altcoin frenzy.According to CCData, a data and index solutions provider specializing in the digital asset market, aggregate trading volumes across major South Korean exchanges, including Upbeat and Bithumb Korea, reached a record of US$254 billion, representing a a staggering 294% month-on-month (MoM) increase. South Korea now accounts for 7.38% of the total spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges.November also marked a watershed moment for global crypto trading, with combined spot and derivatives markets surpassing US$10 trillion in volume for the first time.Spot trading volume rose 128% MoM to US$3.43 billion, the second-highest monthly total since the previous peak in May 2021. Derivatives trading volumes, meanwhile, surged 89.4% to US$6.99 trillion, surpassing the previous all-time high set in March 2024.The crypto sector’s rebound is extending beyond trading, with acquisition activity also gaining momentum. In October, Stripe’s US$1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin payment platform Bridge, set a new record as the largest crypto acquisition by exit valuation.To mark this milestone, market intelligence platform CB Insights released last month a list of the 10 largest crypto acquisitions to date, ranked by exit valuation. Today, we take a look at these transactions, exploring their objectives and underlying ambitious.Bridge – US$1.1 billion (October 2024)In its largest acquisition to date, fintech giant Stripe acquired in October 2024 stablecoin platform Bridge for a staggering US$1.1 billion. The deal marked the biggest M&A deal in the crypto industry so far.Founded by Square and Coinbase alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, Bridge provides an application programming interface (API) enabling companies to accept stablecoins, serving customers including SpaceX and Coinbase.The strategic deal coincides with Stripe’s latest expansion into cryptocurrency services. In October, it brought back crypto payment functionality for businesses in the US.Bithumb – US$706 million (October 2018)BK Global Consortium acquired in October 2018 a majority stake in South Korea’s second-largest crypto exchange, Bithumb, for KRW 400 billion (US$333 million). The deal valued Bithumb at US$706 million, making it the second largest crypto acquisition in history.Bithumb, founded in 2014, boasted eight million users and over US$1 trillion in cumulative transaction volume by October 2019.BK Global Consortium is a Singapore-based consortium led by plastic surgeon Dr. Kim Byung-gun, chairman of BK Gr