According to a message by CEO Nejc Kodrič on the bitcoin exchange’s website, the firm had been regularly approached “by suitors for quite some time.”

Although Kodrič did not disclose financial details of the sale, a New York Times reporter tweeted the deal was worth around $400m.

Kodrič wrote that NXMH’s credentials, its offer and the fact that “the industry is at a point where consolidation makes sense,” were among the factors that clinched it for them.

Bitstamp stressed that the mission, leadership and vision for the company would remain unchanged under the new owners.

“It is business as usual here. We do anticipate that this acquisition will strengthen Bitstamp’s positioning for growth, which will provide opportunities to better serve our customers.”

Bitstamp became the first national regulated bitcoin exchange in Europe when in 2016 the Luxembourg authorities granted it a licence to operate as a payment institution.

The firm was founded in 2011 out of a “garage”, with two laptops and €1,000. Since then, the price of bitcoin has fluctuated wildly created a craze that has been likened to the seventeenth Century tulip bubble.

NXC owns Korbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, and Nexon, an online video game producer.