Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz raised $250 million USD (approximately $314 million CAD) to finance Galaxy Digital, a digital currency hedge fund.The digital currency hedge fund originally planned to raise $200 million USD (approximately $252 million CAD). The company ended up raising 25 percent more than its original target, even after the value of digital currencies plummeted in late January 2018. Galaxy Digital raised money through a private placement and has not released an investor list. Bloomberg, however, revealed that Terry Gou, the chief executive officer of China’s Foxconn, is one of the investors in the group. Galaxy Digital has recently purchased First Coin Capital and will undergo a reverse takeover of Bradmer Pharmaceuticals. According to Bloomberg, the unnamed person familiar with Novogratz’s plans said Novogratz would be moving his $400 million USD (approximately $500 million CAD) digital currency and blockchain investments into Galaxy Digital. Despite the uncertainty in the market, Galaxy Digital is moving quickly. They have recently announced a joint venture with blockchain software developer Block.one and led a $30 million USD (approximately $37.8 million CAD) large equity sale into Everipedia, a decentralized version of Wikipedia.
The unnamed person from Bloomberg’s interview said Novogratz “had been laying the groundwork for Galaxy for months.” Prior to the recent fundraising round, Galaxy Digital purchased First Coin Capital, a Vancouver based startup that assists companies with their ICOs. He plans to merge the company with Bradmer Pharmaceuticals through a reverse takeover. Since the pharmaceutical company is on the TSX-V, Galaxy Digital can trade publicly without needing to disclose financial statements.
On January 23rd, while Galaxy Digital was securing private funds and in the process of acquiring First Coin Capital, they announced a joint venture with Block.one, the developer behind the leading blockchain software EOS.IO, to focus on the EOS.IO ecosystem. “EOS.IO is designed to enable new community-driven business models capable of disrupting the world’s largest technology incumbents,” said Novogratz. “This milestone represents Galaxy Digital and Block.one’s joint commitment to investing in that future.”Just two weeks after the joint venture, on February the 8th, Galaxy Digital’s EOS.io Ecosystem Fund invested in Everipedia. “We're delighted to support Everipedia and look forward to the growth of a more modern and inclusive encyclopedia that puts the world's knowledge on the blockchain,” said Novogratz.
In the last few months, Novogratz has been busy. He acquired First Coin Capital, partnered with Block.one, secured hundreds of millions in funding, and lead Galaxy Digital’s first large investment in Everipedia. Galaxy Digital is currently the largest venture in the emerging world of digital currencies, drawing multiple comparisons to hedge fund powerhouse Goldman Sachs.Image credit: Galaxy Digital logo
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