A major international acquisition in the digital assets sector has an unexpected Maltese chapter at its core. Bridgepoint, the London-listed private equity group, has struck a £200 million deal to acquire ht.digital (HT), a rapidly expanding provider of digital asset audit and assurance services. While HT’s global presence spans London and the Cayman Islands, its recent growth within Europe over the last year has been shaped by the arrival of Maltese consultancy firm Tri-Mer Services Ltd.

Tri-Mer, led by partners Ian and Marco Mercieca and a team of experienced local practitioners, entered into a strategic collaboration with ht.digital earlier this year. With Malta’s digital asset market maturing at pace — buoyed by EU-wide MiCA regulation and an influx of institutional players — Tri-Mer saw an opportunity to help the UK-based firm scale across Europe. That partnership deepened quickly: Marco and Ian Mercieca were invited to become partners at ht.digital, bringing Maltese regulatory experience, operational strength, and market access into HT’s structure.

The timing could not have been better. As the demand for institutional-grade crypto assurance surged globally, ht.digital’s client roster expanded to more than 700 organisations, including major crypto exchanges, asset managers and banks seeking controlled exposure to digital assets. HT’s expertise sits in an increasingly competitive niche: independent assurance, technology auditing and risk assessment for blockchain-based financial products. These services have moved from “nice to have” to regulatory expectation, making HT’s offering particularly attractive to investors.

With Malta already home to parts of HT’s operations, Tri-Mer’s involvement helped the company strengthen its European footprint at a critical moment. The firm’s integration of Maltese talent and connections not only positioned HT for its next growth phase, but also contributed to a reshaping of the firm’s global strategy — now validated by Bridgepoint’s £200m majority acquisition.

Bridgepoint’s move signals continued institutional interest in the digital asset sector, even after a period of volatility that erased hundreds of billions from global crypto market capitalisation. The deal aligns HT with a heavyweight investor whose portfolio includes notable consumer and technology brands, giving the company the financial scale needed to expand its assurance capabilities in a regulatory environment that is rapidly tightening worldwide.

For Tri-Mer, the acquisition represents a milestone few Maltese professional services firms experience: joining a global operator, contributing to months of rapid expansion, and being part of one of Europe’s biggest digital-asset-related private equity deals of 2025.

In a statement shared on LinkedIn, Tri-Mer’s leadership expressed pride in helping bring the transaction to fruition, describing it as the beginning of a long-term journey focused on scaling and strengthening ht.digital’s operations. The firm emphasised that the work ahead will be demanding, but the deal underscores the value of Maltese expertise in Europe’s digital-asset ecosystem.

As the sector continues to consolidate, the ht.digital–Bridgepoint deal stands as a reminder that Malta’s role in the European crypto and fintech landscape remains more influential than its size suggests — with local firms like Tri-Mer helping shape cross-border transactions at the highest level.