IG Group Acquires Exchange in £87 Million Crypto Deal

IG Group acquires exchange to strengthen its regulated crypto presence, expand Asia-Pacific reach, and accelerate growth. London-headquartered contracts for differences (CFDs) broker IG Group has revealed its purchase of Australian cryptocurrency platform Independent Reserve at an initial enterprise value of A$178 million (£86.8 million).

IG Group Acquires Exchange with 5x Revenue Valuation

The broker highlighted that this bolt-on acquisition will enable it to enter the digital asset market in the Asia-Pacific region. Independent Reserve offers crypto trading services to both retail and institutional clients and holds approvals in Australia and Singapore.

IG further intends to roll out the crypto exchange’s services more broadly across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

“This acquisition marks an important step in IG’s crypto strategy in a key region,” said Matt Macklin, Managing Director of Asia-Pacific & Middle East at IG.

The transaction is subject to regulatory clearances from MAS in Singapore and FIRB in Australia and is projected to complete in early 2026.

As part of the agreement, IG will integrate the leadership and staff of the crypto exchange, who will retain a 30 per cent ownership stake.

“Joining IG provides us with the platform to accelerate our growth,” added Adrian Przelozny, CEO and co-founder of Independent Reserve. “IG’s vision aligns with our mission to provide secure, regulated crypto trading and this transaction will enable us to expand our product and market reach.”

Valuation at 5x Revenue

Independent Reserve posted A$35.3 million in revenue in FY25, up sharply from A$18.8 million the year before. It also reported EBITDA of A$9.9 million with a 28.2 per cent margin.

The exchange currently holds 129,400 funded accounts with A$1.7 billion in assets under custody and averages 116,000 active users per month.

IG specified that it valued Independent Reserve’s enterprise at five times its annual revenue for the previous fiscal year. The broker will initially pay A$109.6 million (£53.4 million) for the exchange, with an additional contingent sum of A$15 million (£7.3 million) tied to FY26 performance.

IG also retains a call option to buy the remaining 30 per cent stake it will not own at closing, with valuation linked to results in FY27 and FY28.

The acquisition follows only months after IG rolled out spot crypto trading through its tie-up with Uphold and expanded its US-based tastytrade crypto offerings.

Independent Reserve is IG’s second major purchase in recent months. Earlier this year, it bought UK commission-free stock trading platform Freetrade for £160 million.

In 2024, IG exited “several legacy and sandbox initiatives,” including Spectrum, Brightpool, Raydius, BadTrader, and Small Exchange, and also shut down its South African operations.

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