Galaxy Digital Extends Crypto Trading Business by Acquiring DrawBridge Lending and Blue Fire Capital
Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (“Galaxy Digital” or the “Company”) reported that it had acquired two prominent crypto-currency trading companies: DrawBridge Lending (“DrawBridge”), a digital asset lending, borrowing and structured goods innovator, and Blue Fire Capital (“Blue Fire”), a market-based and two-sided liquidity proprietary company specializing in digital asset lending, borrowing, and structured products.
DrawBridge and Blue Fire are both leaders in applying their teams’ institutional experience to the increasingly rising cryptocurrency derivatives and lending space in conventional lending, structured goods, futures, and market-making.
Galaxy Digital Trading (“GDT”) runs a 24-hour global trading model and offers a wide variety of trading strategies to institutional customers and counterparties. With almost 200 participating counterparties internationally, it currently trades over $4 billion in OTC volume annually. In 2020, investors, companies, regulators, and governments have seen a broad institutional awareness of cryptocurrency use cases. GDT has seen a substantial increase in institutional demand for cryptocurrency-related financial products and services as a consequence.
Christopher Ferraro, President of Galaxy Digital, said that Galaxy Digital aims to bring cryptocurrency to traditional finance and vice versa. He said that DrawBridge and Blue Fire’s market-leading capabilities would allow us to amplify their strong position as a ready further to go to the trading desk in digital assets and more rapidly grow our innovative portfolio of trading products and services. Christopher said that these acquisitions bring in two exceptional and experienced teams who will play key roles in managing and expanding our business in the years to come.
Key benefits include
The combined effect continues to extend the revenue-generating Galaxy Digital Trading activities by instantly diversifying GDT beyond its existing $4 billion annual OTC trading volume and into increased options and futures trading; on-exchange market making; and loans, investing, and structured goods.
Scales DrawBridge’s first-mover lending and structured crypto product offerings through the institutional market relationships of Galaxy Digital and robust, publicly audited balance sheet, thus adding Galaxy Digital’s $150 million+ third-party assets to DrawBridge.
It builds on the strategic partnership between DrawBridge and GDT that was developed in 2019. Subsequently, the companies together assessed hundreds of tailor-made loans and executed them on a growing live loan book extended due to this transaction.
Amplifies the main trading strategies and execution of Blue Fire with the large sources of Galaxy Digital liquidity and further strengthens the combined business’s superior relationships with key global crypto exchanges through the $36 billion+ annual trading volume of notional derivatives of Blue Fire.
Maintains Galaxy Digital’s powerful regional hub in Chicago to extend agency, prime brokerage, and electronic trading services and increase connectivity with conventional derivatives companies as they look to shift with blue-chip partners into crypto markets.
Galaxy Digital Trading’s leadership team is further strengthened by seasoned trading and lending industry members with established track records across conventional asset classes and crypto markets.
Jason Urban, CEO, and Co-Founder of DrawBridge, will join Galaxy Digital as Co-Head of Galaxy Digital Trading and work alongside Peter Wisniewski, fellow Co-Head. Andrew Karos will join Galaxy Digital and remain the CEO of Blue Fire, a wholly-owned company that will continue to operate. It offers near-term capital deployment incentives from institutional investors for Galaxy Digital’s recent $50 million financing.
About Galaxy Digital
Galaxy Digital is a diversified financial service and investment management business in the digital asset, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology market. The Galaxy Digital team has vast expertise in trading, fund management, capital markets, venture capital, wealth management, and technology for blockchain. Galaxy Digital operates four different business lines, including Trading, Asset Management, Principal Investments, and Investment Banking.
For information visit www.galaxydigital.io.
