The assessment is "likely_true" with high confidence based on strong, consistent evidence from the provided sources.One source, a news article from the cryptocurrency exchange Phemex, directly and explicitly supports the statement, claiming that "Crypto M&A Volume Hits Record $8.6 Billion in 2025." This source has perfect relevance to the claim.This is strongly corroborated by another highly relevant source, a report from CryptoVerseLawyers.io, which states that "Fintech-Crypto M&A 2025 Hits $8B." The figure of $8 billion is extremely close to the $8.6 billion in the statement, and minor variations in total deal value are common between different data providers due to slight differences in methodology, timing, and what deals are included. This close alignment significantly strengthens the credibility of the statement's figure.Furthermore, highly authoritative sources such as PwC and Lexology confirm that M&A activity involving digital assets was a significant global trend in 2025, lending contextual support to the claim. Although these sources do not provide the specific global total, they establish that such data is being tracked and reported by major firms.Crucially, none of the provided sources contradict the statement. The evidence is therefore consistent and points strongly in one direction. The combination of a direct match from one source and a very close, corroborating figure from another makes the statement highly probable.