Crypto Industry Entering Biggest Consolidation Phase Yet

Crypto industry analyst Lorenzo Valente says the sector is entering its biggest consolidation phase yet. He notes that revenue is increasingly concentrated among a handful of dominant protocols, making it harder for projects and exchanges without strong product-market fit to attract capital.

According to Valente, perpetual futures exchange Hyperliquid and memecoin launchpad Pump.fun account for roughly 67% of total crypto application revenue. Adding synthetic dollar protocol Ethena raises the top three's combined share to nearly 80%, highlighting what he described as record-high revenue concentration across the sector.

Valente expects the trend to accelerate in the coming months, leading to more mergers and acquisitions, Chapter 11 bankruptcies, project shutdowns, and acqui-hires. Despite the shakeout, he described the consolidation as 'extremely bullish' for the crypto industry.