Cryptocurrency Merchant Bank Planned By Billionaire Investor Michael Novogratz

Announcements, News | January 11, 2018 By:

Billionaire investor Michael Novogratz is planning to start a merchant bank dedicated to cryptocurrencies.

Novogratz is the chairman and CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners. He joined Fortress in 2002 after spending more than a decade at Goldman Sachs, where he was elected partner in 1998. He was ranked a billionaire by Forbes in 2007 and 2008.

In a statement on Tuesday, Novogratz said he is looking to raise $200 million for a crypto merchant bank, dubbed Galaxy Digital. The plan is to get the company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, a Canadian electronic trading platform. Novogratz is betting his entire $400 million worth of crypto assets on the project.

The ex-hedge fund manager plans to acquire Vancouver-based First Coin Capital Corp. and then list the combined company through a reverse takeover of an inactive firm called Bradmer Pharmaceuticals Inc. On January 9, Bradmer entered into a letter of intent with Galaxy Digital and First Coin Capital Corp. to form a new enterprise in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. The group is aiming to complete the transactions by the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Galaxy Digital will be established as a full service, digital assets merchant bank. It intends to capitalize on market opportunities through four primary business lines, including trading, principal investing, asset management, and advisory. Galaxy Digital will leverage its deep ties into bitcoin, ethereum and other protocol communities to drive returns from four core business segments.