RootData: The industry is entering a period of consolidation characterized by "big fish eating small fish," with a wave of mergers and acquisitions ex...
TL;DR
The 2025 Web3 industry saw concentrated IPOs in Q3 and a surge in M&A in Q4, with giants like Naver driving consolidation. This trend is expected to continue into 2026, forcing smaller projects to choose between acquisition or elimination.
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According to ChainCatcher 's "RootData 2025 Web3 Industry Annual Report," 2025 saw a pattern of "concentrated IPOs in Q3 and a surge in M&A in Q4," reflecting companies' path of "first listing and raising funds, then consolidating and expanding." November alone accounted for 59% of the total M&A activity for the year, primarily driven by moves by giants like Naver's acquisition of Dunamu.
The report predicts that the consolidation trend will continue in the first half of 2026, with industry leaders building moats through capital operations, while small and medium-sized projects face the harsh choice of being acquired or eliminated.