Novogratz-Led Galaxy Digital To Acquire Custody Platform GK8 From Bankrupt Celsius

Mike Novogratz led cryptocurrency-focused financial-services firm Galaxy Digital Holdings BRPHF on Friday announced it has won an auction to acquire digital asset custody platform GK8 from Celsius Network.

Galaxy stated that it intends to support GK8's ongoing operations in offering self-custody technology to the world's leading financial services firms, as well as utilize GK8's custody solution in the ongoing development of GalaxyOne.

GalaxyOne is a new offering for institutional investors that will combine trading, lending, cross-portfolio margining, and derivatives with the company's market-tested risk-management processes, supported by a range of custodial options, which will include those from GK8.

"The acquisition of GK8 is a crucial cornerstone in our effort to create a truly full-service financial platform for digital assets, ensuring our clients will have the option to store their digital assets at or separate from Galaxy without compromising versatility and functionality," said Mike Novogratz, founder, and CEO of Galaxy.

"Adding GK8 to our prime offering at this pivotal moment for our industry also highlights our continued willingness to take advantage of strategic opportunities to grow Galaxy in a sustainable manner."

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Galaxy To Expand Its Prime Brokerage Offering With The Acquisition

A team of about 40 employees, including cryptographers and blockchain engineers, will be added as a result of the deal, accelerating Galaxy's product innovation and development.

With the acquisition, Galaxy said it will also increase its geographic reach by opening a Tel Aviv office. 

GK8 will continue to directly support financial institutions, such as banks, trust firms, broker-dealers, and retail platforms, in their efforts to protect the digital assets of their clients in addition to offering self-custody solutions to GalaxyOne and institutional investors.

GK8 recently announced a partnership with USI Insurance Services to provide institutional clients with access to up to $1 billion of insurance coverage for digital assets stored on the platform, bolstering its secure custody solutions.

Reeling under pressure from an extended crypto winter, Celsius declared bankruptcy in July and listed some of its assets for sale.

On its part, Galaxy gave up on its intention to pay $1.2 billion for cryptocurrency custody expert BitGo.

At the time in August, Galaxy said that BitGo had missed the deadline of July 31 for submitting financial statements.

In response to the deal's collapse, BitGo sued Galaxy for damages in September.

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