Galaxy Digital, a merchant bank founded by famed bitcoin investor and president of the Fortress Investment Group, Michael Novogratz, has led a $52.5 million investment round for cryptocurrency-backed USD lending platform, Blockfi.
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Novogratz’ Galaxy Digital Leads $52.5 Mn Fundraiser for Crypto-Backed Lending Platform
In the company’s first institutional investment into “cryptoasset backed loans,” Galaxy Digital Venutres LLC, has been announced as the leader in a $52.5 million fundraising round for crypto-backed lending platform, Blockfi.
Mike Novogratz, the bank’s founder, stated: “We’re excited to partner with BlockFi and jointly lead the way for financial institutions to participate in crypto investing strategies,” adding “A robust lending market is the keystone for financial systems and BlockFi’s institutional approach and deep lending expertise were key drivers in our decision to partner with them.”
As part of the deal, Galaxy Digital Ventures’ head of principal investments, Chris Ferraro, has joined Blockfi’s board of directors. “BlockFi has differentiated itself in the lending business with capital cost and scale, which will help them raise incremental institutional capital as demand grows. We believe BlockFi’s risk management lens, regulatory approach, and marketing capabilities position the firm to be the market leader,” said Mr. Ferraro.
Blockfi to Comprise Galaxy Digital’s “Exclusive Consumer Lending Partner”
The chief executive officer and co-founder of Blockfi, Zac Prince, described “Galaxy’s investment and decision to make us their exclusive consumer lending partner” as comprising “a strategic step towards BlockFi delivering large-scale credit across the crypto ecosystem.”
“The support we’ve seen from existing clients and investors highlights the strong demand for leveraging Bitcoin and Ether for low-cost USD loans. We look forward to expanding our services to support more cryptocurrencies and geographic markets in the near future,” Mr. Prince added.
In June, Galaxy Digital invested $15 million into Alphapoint Corp. – a company seeking to provide asset tokenization services to institutions. “We are in the early stages of a fundamental transformation in financial markets due to the digitization of assets. We are excited to partner with AlphaPoint as we continue to help drive this revolutionary change in digital markets,” Mr. Novogratz said.
What is your response to Galaxy Digital’s investment into Blockfi? Join the discussion in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Galaxy Digital
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