Cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital has purchased two firms as it seeks to become the "go to" platform for institutional access to digital assets, the firm said Friday.
- Announced in a press release, the newly acquired firms are DrawBridge Lending, a "white glove" service for borrowing and investing in digital assets, and Blue Fire Capital, which focuses on providing two-sided liquidity for futures markets and digital assets.
- The terms of the deals were not disclosed, but Galaxy did say the move would bring DrawBridge's over $150 million in third-party assets to the firm.
- "Galaxy Digital's mission is to bring cryptocurrency to traditional finance and vice versa," according to Christopher Ferraro, president of Galaxy Digital.
- The acquisitions "will enable us to further amplify our strong position as a go-to trading desk in digital assets and more rapidly grow our innovative portfolio of trading products and services," he said.
- The news came hours after Galaxy, which was founded by Mike Novogratz, announced net income of $44.3 million for Q3 2020 – well up from a loss of $68.2 million in the same quarter last year.
- Volume at subsidiary Galaxy Digital Trading (GDT) was up 75% compared with Q3 2019 to a record $1.4 billion, which the firm put down to the soaring bitcoin market.
- Novogratz said the acquisitions would help the firm "further meet what we believe will be an even bigger wave of institutional demand."