“We expect crypto M&A activity to remain strong for the coming months particularly with some of the larger or more profitable players acquiring firms that offer ancillary services to their current offerings,” said PwC Crypto Leader Henri Arslanian. “We should expect the large crypto unicorns to become increasingly like ‘crypto octopuses’ by acquiring or investing in various ancillary businesses in order to remain dominant.”

Crypto as an asset class is having a good year. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index is up more than 80%, compared with a gain of less than 10% for the S&P 500, as digital money benefits from a boom in decentralized finance and a maturing of the market. Companies like Square Inc. and MicroStrategy Inc. have put some of their money in crypto, as has legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones, boosting demand and demonstrating interest from bigger players.

The first half of this year also saw an increase in fund raising involving crypto exchanges or trading companies, PwC said. The report attributed the gain to rising crypto prices, increased institutional interest and greater regulatory clarity.