Paxos closed the acquisition of Fordefi for more than $100 million, a move aimed at reinforcing its custody services and its offering to institutional clients in DeFi. The transaction places Paxos in a more competitive position in regulated infrastructure, with a focus on security and compliance.
Paxos paid a figure exceeding $100 million for Fordefi, whose value had previously been estimated at $83 million. Fordefi brings a base of more than 300 financial clients and a team of approximately 40 employees; it will initially maintain operational independence while its technological integration into Paxos’s platform is planned. The acquisition also drives the expansion of Paxos’s R&D center in Israel.
Fordefi’s key technological asset is its solution based on multi-party computation (MPC). MPC allows multiple parties to perform joint computations on private data without revealing that data, which reduces single points of failure in the custody of private keys. That approach seeks to offer custodians and institutional treasuries an alternative that combines operational security and regulatory compatibility.
Paxos has been guiding its strategy toward the institutional “gateway” to DeFi and regulated custody. The purchase is framed alongside the company’s previous acquisitions and its internal initiatives to adapt products to the regulatory environment, keeping operational robustness as a priority after previous incidents that demanded rapid corrections.
Market and regulatory context
The transaction fits into a wave of technological consolidation in the sector: competitors and adjacent actors have obtained relevant valuations and agreements in 2025, such as a wallet company that reached a valuation of $3 billion after a $150 million round, the purchase of an identity firm for $230 million by a major digital payments company, and acquisitions of cybersecurity and fraud-detection providers for double-digit millions. These moves show demand for technological capacity and talent that allow institutions to operate with digital assets in supervised frameworks.
From a regulatory perspective, Paxos has accumulated forced experience in compliance, including a prior sanction with New York authorities, a fact the company has integrated into its control and governance approach. Past experience and recent operational corrections have shaped the bet on solutions that reduce operational risk and facilitate institutional access.
Conclusion The incorporation of Fordefi reinforces Paxos’s strategy to offer institutional-grade custody and regulated access to DeFi protocols.
