TechFlow news, July 11 — According to BlockWorks, Coinbase has completed its sixth acquisition this year. This latest move is a pure acqui-hire, bringing in two core members from the DeFi options protocol Opyn: CEO Andrew Leone and research lead Joe Clark.
The two professionals will join Coinbase's on-chain markets team, focusing on the development of Verified pools and other on-chain market products. A Coinbase spokesperson emphasized that the company particularly values Leone and Clark's deep experience in DeFi and their vision for the future of on-chain markets.
The Opyn team previously developed the first DeFi options protocol and is known as the creator of Power Perpetuals and the team behind Squeeth. Notably, Opyn was sued by the CFTC in 2023 for allegedly operating an unregistered trading platform and later reached a settlement.
This talent acquisition aligns with Coinbase's strategic direction of moving more trading operations on-chain. So far this year, Coinbase has completed multiple acquisitions including Roam, Spindl, Iron Fish team, Deribit, and Liquifi.
