This article has been updated to correct that GreatPoint Ventures, not General Motors, led the funding round. United States-based blockchain startup Spring Labs has raised $23 million in a Seed A funding round, according to a press release on June 12. Among the investors for this seed A funding round — led by GreatPoint Ventures — were Galaxy Digital, the cryptocurrency investment bank founded by crypto enthusiast Michael Novogratz, and automotive giant General Motors (GM). Spring Labs will purportedly use the funds to improve its blockchain-based platform Spring Protocol and develop three new fraud protection products that are designed to …

Michael Novogratz, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital, has said that he expects bitcoin (BTC) to consolidate in the $7,000-$10,000 range, Bloomberg reports on May 30. Per the report, during a conference call discussing his company’s quarterly earnings, he noted that “on a go-forward basis, bitcoin probably consolidates somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000.” Novogratz also added: “If I’m wrong on that, I think I’m wrong to the upside, that there’s enough excitement and momentum that it could carry through.” Bloomberg reports that Novogratz credits this year’s rally to mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies, as well as attention towards …

Tim Plakas has left the major United States crypto exchange Coinbase to join the cryptocurrency bank founded by Michael Novogratz, Galaxy Digital, an anonymous source purportedly told The Block on May 28. Plakas’ departure follows four senior executive departures from Coinbase in approximately the last seven months. Plakas reportedly held the position of over-the-counter (OTC) trading head at Coinbase from July 2018 to January 2019, and will be joining the OTC team at Galaxy Digital. Novogratz’s crypto bank is a member of Crypto OTC Roundtable Asia (CORA) Network, a non-profit collective of companies that want to improve the Crypto OTC …

Earlier this week, it was revealed that EOS developer Block.one is attempting a 10% buyback of its stock, reportedly the second one in less than a year. It seems that some of the company’s investors are up for a big payday: The earliest backers could expect a hefty 6,567% return on their initial investments, while Michael Novogratz has already managed to secure a much more modest, though still profitable, 123% return. But why would Block.one buy its shares back in the first place? It appears that the startup’s executives are confident about the future of their network — and a …

Michael Novogratz, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital, has suggested that one of the crypto assets created by social media giants will succeed. Novogratz made his remarks during an interview with CNBC published on May 24. At the end of the interview, Novogratz noted: “I think Facebook’s payment currency, I think Telegram’s gonna have one...You’re gonna see one of those payment coins work, and I think that has the chance to be a real currency.” Earlier in the interview, Novogratz reiterated his stance that bitcoin (BTC) is a store of value, again comparing the coin to gold …

Crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital has sold its shares in EOS developer Block.one for $71.2 million. The news was announced in a press release on May 21. According to the release, the bank reportedly accepted EOS’ tender offer back in April, closing the transaction on May 20 to realize a 123% return on its initial investment. Following the deal, Galaxy Digital’s investment in Block.One no longer represents a material investment position, the press release notes. In a statement, Galaxy Digital CEO and founder Michael Novogratz outlined that: “The acceptance of Block.one’s tender offer reflected a decision to rebalance the portfolio …

The world’s largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), is not going to change the world as it is just a store of value, Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz said at ConsenSys’ Ethereal Summit on May 11. Major bitcoin bull and former Wall Street exec Novogratz made his comments during a speech entitled “The Herd Is Still Coming!” at the industry event, which Cointelegraph attended as a media partner. Starting with bitcoin, “as it came first,” Novogratz claimed that the coin has “really establishing itself as a store of value,” noting that it is “kind of finished” in terms of fulfilling its use …

Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz said that he expects bitcoin (BTC) to beat its all-time-high price within 18 months. Novogratz made his remarks during an interview with mainstream media CNN published on May 9. During the interview, Novogratz also said that he believes that $6,000 is probably a stall point, and the next one will be $10,000. Moreover, he expressed the belief that this time, other cryptocurrencies “aren’t going to go up nearly as quickly.” He explained: “The other coins, Ethereum being the next biggest, Ripple...they have to prove use case, right?” Novogratz pointed out that out of the 118 …

Crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital had a net loss of $272.7 million in 2018, the company announced in a news release on April 29. According to The Block, CEO Michael Novogratz said the final quarter of the year for the crypto industry “felt a little bit like watching Game of Thrones last night” — alluding to the show’s reputation for bloody, violent storylines. He reportedly told shareholders during a conference call: “The results on the year weren’t great by any means… But it’s a little deceiving because for me what matters is the operating loss is and what our cash …

New blockchain startup Bison Trails has received an investment of $5.25 million in a seed round backed by Mike Novogratz’s crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital. The firm announced the fundraising in a Medium post on March 15. Led by two early stage venture capital firms Initialized Capital and Accomplice, the series seed round was also backed by both Galaxy Digital and blockchain-focused asset management firm Distributed Global. Other investors included Notation Capital, Homebrew and Charge Ventures. Bison Trails’ blockchain infrastructure is designed to offer a way to launch secure, available and geographically distributed nodes on a participatory blockchain network, the …

Mike Novogratz's crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital has invested in blockchain security company CipherTrace, according to an official press release published on Feb. 19. CipherTrace has reportedly raised $15 million in venture capital in a new funding round led by major Silicon Valley venture capital firm Aspect Ventures, whose partner, Mark Kraynak, will join the firm’s board of directors. The round also saw investments from Neotribe Ventures and WestWave Capital. California-based CipherTrace will use the secured funds in order to improve tools for cryptocurrency intelligence, anti-money laundering (AML) solutions, blockchain analytics and forensics and compliance. CipherTrace’s reported mission is to …

Mike Novogratz, a former Goldman Sachs partner and founder of crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital, has argued that Bitcoin (BTC) occupies a unique place in the cryptocurrency landscape. Novogratz made his remarks during an interview with Bloomberg TV on Feb. 13. Reflecting on the proliferation of crypto assets, many of which have attempted to vie with Bitcoin (BTC)’s function as store of value, Novogratz argued that: “There’s 118 elements on the periodic table, and only one gold [...] Bitcoin is going to be digital gold, a place where you have sovereign money, it’s not U.S. money, it’s not Chinese money, …