According to the 2nd of November report from Decrypt, Galaxy Digital has won the bid to acquire a self-custody crypto firm, GK8, from the Celsius bankruptcy auction. However, the price of today’s acquisition is undisclosed, but a Galaxy Digital representative told Decrypt that the purchase price we agreed on was materially smaller than what GK8 was previously purchased for.
In November 2021, Celsius, a bankrupt crypto lending firm, first acquired GK8 for around $115 million. But when Celcius filed for bankruptcy protection, the self-custody firm was put up for auction as part of the proceedings of Celcius, which today Galaxy Digital acquired by an undisclosed amount. However, GK8 has not confirmed this deal yet and it is still subject to approval from the bankruptcy court.
After acquiring GK8, Galaxy Digital’s institutional offering GalaxyOne will offer customers secure crypto storage, also known as cold storage, without the need for an internet connection. Cold storage, crypto storage, involves storing crypto on wallets that are isolated from the internet. However, custodial wallets involve storing funds on an exchange or with a lender, and hot wallets, such as MetaMask or WalletConnect, are connected to the internet. Trezor and Ledger, hardware wallets, are another form of cold storage.
In a statement, Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital, said that 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 his firm sustainably.
Early from today’s acquisition, in August, Galaxy Digital pulled out of its proposed $1.2 billion deal to acquire BitGo, another crypto custodian. When Galaxy canceled this deal, BitGo filed a lawsuit against this firm for its improper repudiation and intentional breach of its merger agreement with it.
