Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., a New York-based full-service crypto merchant bank that provides “distinct trading”, principal investment, and asset management services, has sold a significant amount of its outstanding shares in Block.one, a Cayman Islands-registered firm focused on publishing open-source software for EOS.
Founded by prominent crypto investor Michael Novogratz, Galaxy Digital has reportedly received $71.2 million after selling its shares in the company
123% Return On Investment (ROI)
According to a press release, published on May 21, 2019, Galaxy Digital’s management finalized the transaction involving the sale of its Block.one shares on Monday (May 20, 2019). This, after receiving (and accepting) a tender offer for its position in Block.one, which was reportedly made on April 18, 2019.
As noted in the announcement, the management at Galaxy Digital revealed it made a 123% return on its invested capital in Block.one. Per the release, the digital asset merchant bank’s remaining shares in Block.one “will no longer maintain a material position.”
“Rebalancing Portfolio To Maintain Appropriate Level Of Diversification”
Commenting on the sale of its shares in Block.one, Novogratz, the CEO at Galaxy Digital, remarked:
The acceptance of Block.one’s tender offer reflected a decision to rebalance the portfolio to maintain an appropriate level of diversification after the position increased due to its substantial outperformance relative to the remainder of the portfolio.
The release mentioned that Galaxy Digital will maintain its partnership with Block.one – as the two firms are involved in various other businesses. Notably, Galaxy Digital operates an EOS-focused venture capital fund, which assists blockchain startups that are building decentralized applications (dApps) on the EOS platform.
In June 2018, Block.one and Galaxy Digital launched a $325 million joint initiative, called the EOSIO Ecosystem Fund. As its name implies, the EOS-focused fund will be used to provide funding to various projects that are supporting the ongoing development of EOSIO, one the largest smart contract-enabled, blockchain-based development platforms.
In July 2018, Block.one had reportedly received substantial investments from Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, and Jihan Wu, the co-founder of crypto mining giant Bitmain.
Galaxy Digital’s exit appears to have come as part of Block.one’s 10% buyback program from holders of its company shares. As confirmed by Bloomberg, Block.one’s buyback offer has been valued at approximately $2.3 billion, which represents an increase of almost 66x its original value (in 2017).
Block.one is Holding 140,000 Bitcoin
During Block.one’s seed funding round in 2017, the company’s shares had been offered at $22.5 (per share). The current repurchasing price for Block.one’s company shares is about $1,500 (per share).
Currently, Block.one has around $3 billion in total assets, which includes cash and investments (as of February 2019). This, according to an email sent to Block.one’s shareholders on March 19, 2019. The software developer is also holding approximately 140,000 Bitcoin (BTC), currently valued at $1.12 billion, in its treasury.
