Galaxy Digital Holdings To Acquire GK8 For Safe Institutional Self-Custody

On December 2nd, Galaxy Digital Holdings, a provider of financial services and an investment management firm, declared its intention to acquire GK8, a platform for safe institutional self-custody of digital assets.

According to the press release:

The acquisition will be the result of a sale process executed in connection with Celsius Network LLC’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is subject to court approvals and other closing conditions.

Celsius initially purchased GK8 in November 2021 for $115 million. The self-custody company was placed up for auction as part of bankruptcy proceedings after Celsius filed for bankruptcy.

The 2017 launch of Celsius Network was somewhat reminiscent of a bank. According to the company’s website, users could deposit cryptocurrency and earn interest of up to 17%, and Celsius would offer loans based on those deposits. 

Authorities in many jurisdictions raised concerns about the legality of Celsius products last year. The firm forbade its 1.7 million subscribers, who at its height had access to $20 billion in money, from withdrawing or moving them in June 2022. After that, it declared bankruptcy in July.

Although the Galaxy’s acquisition agreement terms weren’t made public, Galaxy spokesperson Michael Wursthorn said that the price was significantly below what Celsius paid.

Mike Novogratz, Founder, and CEO of Galaxy, said:

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.

He further said including GK8 in its lineup of premium products at this crucial juncture for its sector also emphasizes Galaxy’s continuous commitment to seize strategic possibilities for long-term growth.

In addition to utilizing GK8’s custody solution in the continuous development of GalaxyOne, Galaxy wants to assist GK8’s ongoing activities in providing distinctive self-custody technology to the top financial services companies in the world.

Moreover, Lior Lamesh, the CEO of GK8, and Shahar Shamai, the CTO of Galaxy, who founded the company, will continue to serve in those roles. GK8 will continue to actively help financial institutions. 

It includes banks, trust firms, broker-dealers, and retail platforms in their efforts to preserve their customers’ digital assets and offer self-custody options to GalaxyOne and institutional investors.

Lamesh said:

We are excited by the prospect of joining one of the leading providers of financial and digital asset services to institutions who truly understand the impact of GK8’s custody technology on the future of blockchain. 

Additionally, with Galaxy’s support, they hope to launch innovative new products that showcase the best-in-class capabilities of both GK8 and Galaxy while also showcasing their unmatched R&D capabilities and cryptography expertise.