Digital Currency Group sells $700M of shares for investors to take profits

Published at: Nov. 1, 2021

Digital Currency Group (DCG), one of the largest companies in the cryptocurrency industry, has completed a major secondary investment round led by Japanese financial giant SoftBank.

DCG has sold $700 million worth of shares to companies like Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to bring its valuation to more than $10 billion, the company officially announced Monday.

“Proud to welcome SoftBank, CapitalG, Ribbit, GIC, Tribe and Emory to an already fantastic list of DCG shareholders. And even more proud of over 1,000 employees of DCG and our wholly-owned subsidiaries that made this happen,” DCG CEO and founder Barry Silbert said.

In a Wall Street Journal interview, Silbert emphasized that the investment wasn’t about raising capital for DCG but rather an “opportunity for some for some early investors to exit and take profits.” All the raised money went to the selling shareholders, and none of them sold their entire stake, the company said. Silbert, who owns about 40% in the firm, said that he didn’t sell any stock in the latest round.

Related: Biggest Bitcoin fund in the world could become ETF by July as GBTC nears $40B AUM

Silbert noted that the company hasn't ruled out a potential initial public offering, but it’s “not in the plans and not being discussed right now.” LDCG has been profitable and is on track to top $1 billion in revenue for the year, the CEO said.

DCG is a major crypto industry company, known for operating Grayscale Investments, the world’s biggest digital asset manager with $50 billion under management. In mid-October, Silbert hinted that the company is making plans to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot-settled Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Tags
Bitcoin
Business
Google
Digital Currency Group
Grayscale
Softbank
Related Posts
Grayscale parent company expands GBTC purchase allocation to $1 billion
According to an announcement issued on Wednesday, DCG is now authorized to buy up to $1 billion worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). This development extends DCG’s prior authorization by $250 million if they choose to do so. Indeed, DCG has so far purchased $338 million in GBTC, according to the company’s announcement on Wednesday. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, DCG had purchased $193.5 million worth of GBTC shares back in May 2021. At the time, the firm’s GBTC purchase limit stood at $250 million. As part of the announcement, DCG revealed that it plans to use cash on hand …
Adoption / Oct. 20, 2021
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Holdings Pass $3 Billion, Growing 76% Year-on-Year
Grayscale, a major digital asset management fund, has continued to grow this year, with its total assets under management, or AUM, hitting new highs. According to a May 19 tweet, Grayscale’s total AUM hit $3.8 billion, surging over 80% from $2.1 billion in May 2019. Bitcoin trust continues to gain momentum Grayscale’s Bitcoin (BTC) trust has continued to lead other cryptocurrencies in the fund, accounting for $3.36 billion, or 89% of the firm’s total AUM. The value of Grayscale’s Bitcoin investment trust surged 76% from last year’s $1.9 billion. At the same time, Grayscale’s Bitcoin trust’s share saw a small …
Bitcoin / May 20, 2020
Grayscale ETH trust nears record 60% discount as nerves continue over DCG
The Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) is trading at nearly a 60% discount to the underlying value of its assets, with shares falling 93% from its Jun. 2019 all-time high (ATH). There are many reasons behind the ongoing decline, but in recent weeks fears have grown that fallout from parent company Digital Currency Group’s debt of approximately $1.675 billion to troubled crypto lender Genesis could impact Grayscale assets. YCharts data shows a 59.39% discount at the time of writing, a level the trust has traded at since at least Dec. 28. Crypto Twitter influencer “db” tweeted an image on Jan. 4 …
Bitcoin / Jan. 4, 2023
It'll be OK: DCG crisis likely won’t ‘include a lot of selling’ — Novogratz
Galaxy Digital Holdings CEO Mike Novogratz hosed down fears over the crisis facing Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Genesis saying while it’s “not good news,” it won’t “include a lot of selling.” In a Jan. 10 interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box Novogratz said he expects the current debacle facing DCG and its related companies to “play out” over the next quarter. "The outlook for #crypto is not horrible but it's not great. We've got regulatory headwinds we didn't have before. People are going to cut costs and survive this transition period," says @novogratz. "Crypto is not going away. It's a …
Bitcoin / Jan. 11, 2023
DCG offloads Grayscale shares to raise capital: Report
Cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has reportedly begun to sell its holdings in crypto funds managed by its subsidiary Grayscale Investments as it looks to raise capital and preserve liquidity. According to a Feb. 7 Financial Times report citing seen United States securities filings, DCG sold around a quarter of its shares in Grayscale’s Ether (ETH)-based fund for around $8 per share, despite each share holding a claim to nearly double that amount in ETH. It’s also said to have sold down small share parcels in Grayscale’s Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC)-based trusts in addition …
Bitcoin / Feb. 8, 2023