How “Goldman Sachs for Crypto” Performs on Stock Exchange?

Galaxy Digital, the merchant bank dedicated to digital assets that was founded by former Wall Street banker Mike Novogratz earlier this year, had a bumpy first month on a stock exchange.

The company was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Toronto, Canada, on August 1 this year, making it one of the first crypto-focused companies to become publicly traded on a regulated stock exchange.

Ahead of the listing, shares of Galaxy Digital were sold in a private placement at CAD 5 a piece and started trading at CAD 2.30 on August 1. It reached its peak on August 7 (CAD 3.03) and dropped to CAD 2.35 on August 5. Meanwhile, trading volume has also decreased. It was more than CAD 2 million on the first day and it dropped to less than CAD 80,000 per day recently.

However, the share price increased by 2% in a few days after the company released their financial results for the second quarter, ending June 30, 2018, on August 28, before dropping again in September.

The financial disclosure from the company, sometimes referred to as “the Goldman Sachs for crypto,” shows that it managed to increase the partner’s capital by more than 20% despite the overall decline of the crypto market during the quarter. As of June 30, the firm held digital assets and other investments worth USD 313.4 million.

Also, the company announced it made USD 34.88 million net comprehensive income. Profit came from principal investing and advisory services, while trading, asset management and other operations braught loss.

Galaxy Digital further announced that Julie Coin, a former banker with experience from Deutsche Bank, Merril Lynch, and other institutions, is joining the team as chief operating officer as the company continues to build out its team globally.

Mike Novogratz, founder & CEO of Galaxy Digital, said in a statement that he is satisfied with the work the company has done so far to “help institutionalize the digital assets industry,” while adding “we remain laser focused on scaling our core businesses and identifying strategic opportunities to expand our global footprint.”

Before the listing, Novogratz explained that he believed the crypto market was close to forming a bottom, and that a bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) is the trigger that is needed to propel bitcoin back up to the USD 10,000 level.

Aiming to be a “full service, digital assets merchant bank,” Galaxy Digital offers services in four business areas related to digital assets: Trading, investments in blockchain-related companies, investment management, and client advisory.