Digital cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethernum, Dash, Monero and Litecoin. Chesnot | Getty Images

Deal-makers seem to be anything but deterred by bitcoin's price pain this year — they're actually using it as an excuse to go bargain hunting. Despite the ongoing bear market in the sector, merger and acquisition activity by cryptocurrency companies among themselves and by companies hunting for bitcoin's underlying technology is hitting record levels. Total blockchain and crypto-related deals have surged more than 200 percent at an annualized rate this year, according to data from PitchBook that was compiled by JMP Securities. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has lost 54 percent of its value. As of Monday, 115 deals involving cryptocurrency or blockchain had been announced, on pace to hit 145 by the end of 2018. The count is up significantly from the 47 total deals completed last year, when bitcoin's price was surging to almost $20,000. While JMP didn't have data on the average size of the deals, since many of the details are private, the firm said a majority of the M&A transactions are global in nature and "relatively small" at less than $100 million. The PitchBook data includes majority investments, partial liquidation and full acquisitions. Source: JMP Securities

Values tied to bitcoin

During this deal frenzy, cryptocurrencies have lost more than 65 percent of the total market capitalization and trading volumes have dropped 55 percent, according to CoinMarketCap.com. As digital assets linger in what some are calling "crypto winter," most token prices are still correlated to bitcoin, regardless of the underlying value of the company. Because of that, there seems to be a disconnect between value and valuation — early stage companies are being bought, or at least invested in, at discounted prices, according to JMP Securities' Satya Bajpai. "You're seeing a mispricing of assets," Bajpai, who leads blockchain and digital assets investment banking at JMP, told CNBC in an interview. "Even for great businesses, the value of the token remains correlated to bitcoin, which can create an ideal opportunity for strategic acquirers."

'Land grab' for opportunities