Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says his firm will continue to look for merger and acquisition opportunities after acquiring crypto derivatives platform Deribit.

“We are always looking at M&A opportunities,” said Armstrong on Bloomberg Television on May 14.

He added that the firm has a large balance sheet that can be put to use.

The firm revealed in its latest revenue report that its balance sheet has strengthened, ending the first quarter with $9.9 billion in US dollar resources.

“Part of the benefit of being a public company is, you have a liquid currency to do that,” he said, adding: “We are looking at acquisition opportunities; doesn’t mean we swing at every pitch. We want it to be the right opportunity.”

On May 8, the firm announced that it agreed to acquire crypto options trading platform Deribit in a transaction worth $2.9 billion that consisted of $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase stock

The acquisition, the largest in the crypto industry so far, will allow Coinbase to expand into the profitable crypto derivatives market and continue scaling the platform’s global growth.

Armstrong told the outlet that he is looking particularly at international opportunities, “companies that think similar,” and can accelerate Coinbase’s product development and growth. 

Related: Coinbase’s Deribit buy shows growing derivatives market

However, the crypto executive said he had nothing to announce when asked about a potential acquisition of stablecoin issuer and Coinbase partner, Circle, which has filed to go public. 

In late April, US fintech firm Ripple bid up to $5 billion in an effort to acquire the stablecoin issuer, but the offer was rejected, reported Bloomberg. 

Coinbase stock surges

Coinbase will become the first crypto firm to join the coveted S&P 500 index on May 19.  

The S&P 500 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the US, and potentially opens up their stock to a broader investor base and exposure to passive funds that track the benchmark.

Coinbase shares ended the day up 2.5% to reach $263 in after-hours trading, according to Google Finance. Company stock (COIN) has skyrocketed more than 30% since the beginning of May, and the two big announcements, and almost 50% over the past month. 

Coinbase shares 1 month. Source: Google Finance

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European law enforcement in January arrested 17 suspects of a “mafia crypto bank” who are said to have laundered over 21 million euros ($23.5 million) in crypto for criminal entities in China and the Middle East.

The money laundering services were allegedly carried out on behalf of other criminal networks engaged in migrant smuggling and drug trafficking, Europol said in a May 14 statement.

Spanish authorities said the criminal organization ran a secret informal money transfer system called hawala and was often compensated in crypto.

A total of 17 individuals were arrested — 15 in Spain, one in Austria and one in Belgium — while 4.5 million euros ($5 million) worth of items were seized, including cash, crypto, 18 vehicles, four shotguns and several electronic devices.

Of the 4.5 million euros, 183,000 euros ($205,000) came as crypto. Another 421,000 euros ($471,000) in cash was seized from 77 bank accounts tied to the criminal organization, which one Spanish news outlet described as a “mafia crypto bank.”

Luxury bags, watches and even cigars worth 876,000 euros ($980,000) were also seized, Spanish officials said.

Scenes of European law enforcement efforts and assets seized from the criminal organization. Source: Europol

The arrests and asset seizures took place in January 2025, across Spain, Austria and Belgium, Europol said. More than 250 officers were involved, Spanish authorities added.

Most of those arrested have already been detained

Of the 17 arrested, 15 have already been imprisoned as alleged perpetrators of the crimes linked to the organization. 

Most of those arrested were of Chinese and Syrian nationality, targeting clients in China and the Arabic-speaking criminal world.

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The criminal organization tried to cover up its money laundering activities by operating a remittance business, and even advertised those services on social media.

The investigation was led by a court in Almería, Spain, which supported Europol’s efforts to coordinate Spanish and Belgian officials to dismantle the criminal organization.

Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis estimates that illicit crypto transactions totaled $51.3 billion in 2024, marking an 11.3% year-on-year increase.

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US Democrat lawmakers have sent a letter to the US Treasury demanding access to suspicious activity reports (SARs) on several Trump-backed crypto projects as part of the latest probe into the president’s digital ventures. 

Penned by representatives Gerald Connolly, Joseph Morelle, and Jamie Raskin, the May 14 letter asks Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for all SARS filed since 2023 related to World Liberty Financial (WLF) and the Official Trump (TRUMP) token. 

Financial institutions in the US must file SARs with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau within the Department of the Treasury, when they detect suspicious activity, including potential money laundering or fraud. 

Source: Oversight Committee Democrats

The sweeping probe asks for any SARs mentioning WinRed, America PAC, Elon Musk, political action committee, PAC, Trump, World Liberty Financial, WLF, TRUMP, MELANIA and Justin Sun, no later than May 30. 

The Democratic lawmakers say their probe is to “determine whether legislation is necessary to prevent violations of campaign finance, consumer protection, bribery, securities fraud, and other anti-corruption laws” and to guard against “financial misconduct connected to prospective or current federal officials.” 

Democrats argue WLF and Trump coin could be misused

As part of the letter, the lawmakers argue WLF could be misused as a “vehicle for foreign influence peddling” because it served part of its token sale for foreign investors, who are “generally subject to less stringent regulation than US investors.” 

Justin Sun’s investment in WLF and the subsequent pause of the SEC’s lawsuit that alleged the crypto entrepreneur broke securities laws has also been flagged as a concern. 

Trump’s token has come under fire as well because the lawmakers argue in their letter that the identities of the coin purchasers are not publicly disclosed, which could open the door for bad actors to “curry favor with Trump” by purchasing the coin. 

At the same time, SARS related to Republican digital fundraising WinRed, Elon Musk’s super PAC, which poured $250 million into Trump’s election campaign, and two other PACs are being sought. 

Related: Trump-owned Truth Social denies it is launching a memecoin

This effort is the latest Democrat-led salvo against Trump’s crypto ventures.  

A group of Democratic senators reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about Trump’s ties to crypto exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry, according to a May 9 Bloomberg report. 

US Democratic lawmakers also launched a multi-angle attack on May 6, targeting Trump’s ability to profit from his crypto initiatives with two bills and a subcommittee inquiry. 

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