# Acquisition Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "Acquisition", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

DDC Enterprise Increases Bitcoin Holdings by 200, Advancing Steadiness in Treasury Strategy

DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSEAMERICAN: DDC), a global Asian food platform and digital asset management company, announced on January 22, 2026, that it has purchased an additional 200 Bitcoin as part of its established Bitcoin reserve strategy. This acquisition brings the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to 1,583. The move reflects DDC’s disciplined capital allocation approach, emphasizing steady accumulation across market cycles with strong governance and risk controls. The purchase was made during a market correction, underscoring the company’s long-term value focus rather than short-term volatility. Key highlights include: - Total Bitcoin held: 1,583 - Average purchase price: $88,085 per Bitcoin - Year-to-date return on Bitcoin holdings: 33.8% - Bitcoin per 1,000 shares: 0.053203 Norma Chu, Founder, Chairwoman, and CEO, stated in the 2026 Shareholder Letter that companies prepared for the long term can identify opportunities amid volatility. DDC continues to strengthen its Bitcoin reserve under a clear governance framework as part of its treasury strategy.

marsbit01/22 13:08

DDC Enterprise Increases Bitcoin Holdings by 200, Advancing Steadiness in Treasury Strategy

marsbit01/22 13:08

How Did the Idealism of Western Founders Get 'Taken Over' by Chinese Buyers?

Over the course of two days, two major decentralized social protocols, Lens Protocol and Farcaster, were acquired—by Mask Network and Neynar, respectively. Combined, these protocols had raised over $200 million, with Farcaster recently valued at $1 billion. This follows the earlier acquisition of Steem by Tron in 2020, meaning two out of three prominent decentralized social protocols are now been taken over by Chinese-led teams. The author explores why Chinese buyers are stepping in. One reason may be pricing: these acquisitions often target once-prominent projects now in decline. For instance, Farcaster’s monthly revenue has dropped over 95%, and Lens has only 50,000 monthly active users. Another factor is cultural: while Western founders often approach decentralized social with idealism—emphasizing user-owned data and censorship resistance—Chinese acquirers tend to view it as a business opportunity, prioritizing usability and growth over ideology. Suji Yan, founder of Mask Network, explicitly aims to move “decentralized social from the lab to daily life.” However, past acquisitions like Steem—which led to a community fork—highlight risks when new ownership clashes with original values. The piece questions whether true decentralization is possible when protocols can be sold, suggesting that technical decentralization doesn’t prevent centralized commercial control. Ultimately, the piece argues that the vision for a better social infrastructure remains, but the builders and operators may increasingly be pragmatic, commercially-driven teams—many from China.

比推01/22 12:42

How Did the Idealism of Western Founders Get 'Taken Over' by Chinese Buyers?

比推01/22 12:42

Web3 Social: Still Dominated by the Chinese

In a span of two days, two major decentralized social protocols, Lens Protocol and Farcaster, changed ownership. Lens was taken over by Mask Network, led by Chinese founder Suji Yan, while Farcaster was acquired by Neynar, one of its clients. Combined, these protocols had raised over $200 million, with Farcaster valued at $1 billion last year. This follows the earlier acquisition of Steem by Tron’s Justin Sun in 2020, meaning two out of three prominent decentralized social protocols are now been taken over by Chinese-led teams. The author suggests that Western founders often approach decentralized social with idealism—emphasizing user-owned data and censorship resistance—while Chinese acquirers tend to view it as a business opportunity. Both Lens and Farcaster have seen declining engagement, making them attractive targets for pragmatic operators focused on usability rather than ideology. However, past acquisitions like Steem—which led to a community fork—highlight the risks of centralized control over “decentralized” protocols. Mask Network has framed its role as “stewardship” rather than outright ownership, but the very idea of a “decentralized” protocol being acquired raises questions about how much these platforms are truly user-governed. Ultimately, the piece questions whether these acquisitions will lead to a more practical and widely adopted social web or simply repeat past conflicts between idealism and commercial reality.

marsbit01/22 04:11

Web3 Social: Still Dominated by the Chinese

marsbit01/22 04:11

Strategy Makes Its Biggest Bitcoin Bet In Months With $2.13 Billion Buy

Strategy, a major Bitcoin treasury company, has announced its largest BTC acquisition in months, purchasing 22,305 BTC for $2.13 billion. This purchase, funded through stock sales, marks the company's biggest token acquisition since November 2024. With this addition, Strategy's total holdings have surpassed 709,715 BTC, purchased at a total cost of $53.92 billion and currently valued at $63.55 billion, representing an 18% profit. The company solidifies its position as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Meanwhile, competitor Bitmine, the top corporate Ethereum holder, also expanded its reserves by adding 35,268 ETH. Bitcoin's price has recently declined to around $89,300.

bitcoinist01/21 11:32

Strategy Makes Its Biggest Bitcoin Bet In Months With $2.13 Billion Buy

bitcoinist01/21 11:32

Mask Founder Responds to Taking Over Lens: Adhering to a Product with Weak Finance and Strong Social Features is the Future Direction of Crypto

In a landscape where decentralized social networks are often considered disproven, with early projects stalling despite millions in funding and even leading platforms like Farcaster pivoting to wallets, the announcement that Mask Network will take over Lens Protocol stands out as a significant move. Lens Protocol, created by Aave founder Stani Kulechov, claims around 110,000 active users. Mask Network, known for its expansive presence in decentralized social ecosystems—including acquiring the second-largest Mastodon server and developing the popular Firefly client—aims to reinforce its vision of a crypto future centered on "low-finance, high-social" products rather than purely financial applications. This takeover highlights a continued belief in decentralized social infrastructure, even as major centralized platforms like X and Threads dominate user attention.

marsbit01/21 10:45

Mask Founder Responds to Taking Over Lens: Adhering to a Product with Weak Finance and Strong Social Features is the Future Direction of Crypto

marsbit01/21 10:45

The Year Token Economics Were Debunked

The year 2025 is portrayed as a turning point where the fundamental economic model of crypto tokens was invalidated. The passage of regulatory frameworks like the CLARITY Act in the US forced projects to choose between being classified as a security (under the SEC) or a commodity (under the CFTC), with most falling into the former category. This led to a crisis of "coin rights" (币权). A key trend emerged: traditional financial institutions began acquiring crypto companies, but only for their technology and talent, explicitly excluding the associated tokens from deals. Examples include Circle's acquisition of Interop Labs (without the AXL token) and similar moves by Kraken and Coinbase. This shattered the investor narrative that buying a project's token was equivalent to owning equity, as tokens held no legal claim to a company's assets or profits. Simultaneously, major DeFi protocols like Aave and Uniswap faced internal conflicts. Aave's developers were accused of diverting front-end fees from the community treasury, while Uniswap had to implement complex legal structures to distribute fees to token holders without attracting SEC scrutiny. This highlighted a core dilemma: providing token dividends risked being classified as a security, while avoiding regulation meant tokens remained valueless. The article concludes that the crypto industry is being assimilated into traditional finance, but this "fusion" means value is flowing toward legally recognized entities—companies, equity, and licenses—rather than to token holders. Tokens, like American Depositary Shares (ADS), may remain as tradable rights, but they lack the legal protections and claims of traditional equity, marking the end of an era for the original token economy promise.

marsbit01/21 06:06

marsbit01/21 06:06

Former "NFT Chain" Spends $250 Million to Compete with Stripe and Circle

Polygon Labs has acquired Coinme and Sequence for over $250 million, positioning itself as a "stablecoin rail" competitor to Stripe and Circle. Coinme, a licensed money transmitter in 48 U.S. states, provides a compliant fiat on-ramp via a vast cash-to-crypto network. Sequence offers smart wallet infrastructure that abstracts blockchain complexities for end-users. Together, these acquisitions enable Polygon to offer a full-stack solution for stablecoin payments, combining regulatory access, user-friendly technology, and physical cash integration. This strategy aims to capture value in the growing stablecoin payment market, competing with closed ecosystems like Circle’s Arc and service-oriented platforms like Stripe’s Tempo, while avoiding the token economic pitfalls seen in projects like Tether’s Plasma.

比推01/20 19:05

Former "NFT Chain" Spends $250 Million to Compete with Stripe and Circle

比推01/20 19:05

Currency and Stock Barometer丨Vanguard's US Mid-Cap Index Fund Acquires Over $500 Million in Strategy Stocks for the First Time; Bitmine's Total Staking Exceeds 1.77 Million ETH, Valued at Over $5.6 Billion (January 20)

Crypto-linked stocks showed signs of rebound last week, with companies like BTC treasury firm Strategy seeing share price recoveries. Key market influences include the Fed chair nomination, reduced expectations for rate cuts, and progress on the U.S. CLARITY Crypto Act. Vanguard’s mid-cap index fund purchased $505 million worth of Strategy shares. Strive acquired Semler Scientific, becoming the 11th largest public BTC holder. Steak ‘n Shake added $10 million in BTC to its corporate treasury. BitMine staked an additional 86,848 ETH, bringing its total staked to over 1.77 million ETH valued at $5.65 billion. It also led a $200 million investment into Beast Industries. Meanwhile, FG Nexus sold 2,500 ETH, realizing losses. Solana treasury firm Sharps Technology entered a 90-day lock-up agreement with SOL Markets. Forward Industries reported holding nearly 6.98 million SOL with significant staking rewards. Upexi raised $36 million to expand its SOL holdings. AlphaTON Capital, a TON treasury company, raised $15 million through a public stock offering.

marsbit01/20 08:19

Currency and Stock Barometer丨Vanguard's US Mid-Cap Index Fund Acquires Over $500 Million in Strategy Stocks for the First Time; Bitmine's Total Staking Exceeds 1.77 Million ETH, Valued at Over $5.6 Billion (January 20)

marsbit01/20 08:19

‘Bigger Orange’ – Michael Saylor signals Strategy’s next mega Bitcoin buy

Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy (now Strategy), has signaled the company's intent to continue its aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy after recently completing a $1.25 billion BTC purchase. The firm began 2026 with two major buys: $115.97 million worth of Bitcoin on January 4th, followed by a $1.26 billion purchase on January 12th, bringing its total holdings to approximately 687,410 BTC. This represents about 3% of the total Bitcoin supply. The buying spree marks a strategic shift from Q4 2025, when the company paused acquisitions due to the threat of an MSCI reclassification that could have triggered institutional outflows. With that threat now delayed, investor confidence has returned, evidenced by a rise in MSTR stock and a significant share acquisition by Vanguard Group. Saylor's social media tease indicates the firm's accumulation phase is entering a more aggressive chapter.

ambcrypto01/20 03:01

‘Bigger Orange’ – Michael Saylor signals Strategy’s next mega Bitcoin buy

ambcrypto01/20 03:01

Just Spent 250 Million to Buy Companies, Then Laid Off 30%: Polygon Is Changing Its Way of Survival

Polygon, a major blockchain scaling solution, has laid off approximately 30% of its workforce while simultaneously spending $250 million to acquire two companies: Coinme, a licensed crypto-fiat exchange with an extensive US ATM network, and Sequence, a wallet infrastructure and cross-chain routing provider. This strategic pivot signals a shift away from its core Layer-2 (L2) business, where it faces intense competition from dominant players like Base, and toward building a comprehensive stablecoin payment infrastructure called the "Open Money Stack." The acquisitions provide critical pieces for this new direction: Coinme offers regulatory licenses and on-ramps/off-ramps, while Sequence provides the technical backend for seamless cross-chain transactions. The goal is to target B2B clients like banks and payment providers. This move is seen as a necessary "blood change." Polygon's previous strategy, focused on enterprise adoption and NFTs, yielded limited long-term results. In the crowded L2 space, it struggled against competitors with superior user distribution, such as Base, which is integrated with Coinbase's massive user base. The new focus on stablecoin payments is a promising but highly competitive market, with giants like Stripe, PayPal also making significant investments. While Polygon CEO claims this puts them in competition with Stripe, the company is betting on an open infrastructure model versus Stripe's more closed ecosystem. The strategy carries risks. Coinme has faced regulatory penalties in the past, and Polygon is entering a field with well-established traditional finance players. However, success could transform Polygon from a protocol reliant on tokenomics into a profitable company with real revenue streams, a rarity in crypto. The core challenge is that the window for crypto-native companies to capture this market is narrowing as traditional finance accelerates its adoption of blockchain technology.

marsbit01/16 04:54

Just Spent 250 Million to Buy Companies, Then Laid Off 30%: Polygon Is Changing Its Way of Survival