What Happened: Mike Novogratz, head of crypto-focused investment firm Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd BRPHF, remains optimistic in his outlook for digital currencies despite losing $175 million in the second quarter of this year.
Shares of Galaxy Digital dropped 12% on Tuesday after the firm reported a loss of $175.8 million, attributing most of it to the decline in overall digital asset prices.
“During the quarter, our results were impacted by a 34% decline in overall digital asset prices and a 41% decline in the price of Bitcoin BTC/USD, relative to the end of the first quarter,” stated Galaxy Digital.
Why It Matters: During the same period last year, Galaxy Digital reported a net comprehensive gain of $35.3 million.
However, the company noted that some impacts of the market-driven loss were partly offset by a combination of elevated counterparty trading activity, gains in derivatives from hedging, and growth in its operating business.
“Listen, we lost money last quarter. We lost about 10%, a little more than 10% of our equity, that's what Bitcoin be down 41%. That doesn't bother me [sic],” said an unphased Novogratz in an earnings call.
“Year-to-date VC investment in crypto and blockchain companies stands at $9 billion with nearly $6 billion invested in Q2 alone. By comparison, 2020 average is closer to 1 billion of investment per quarter,” he added.
What Else: To further emphasize his unchanged bullish outlook for Bitcoin, Novogratz’s firm has also filed for a U.S. Bitcoin Futures ETF as per a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Tuesday.
The prospective ETF will not directly invest in Bitcoin but instead, invest in cash-settled Bitcoin futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
“Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of bitcoin should consider an investment other than the Fund,” stated the filing.
Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $45,189, losing 2.13% over the past 24-hours.
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