(Bloomberg) -- Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Holdings agreed to buy crypto custodian BitGo Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $1.2 billion.
Galaxy is paying $265 million in cash and is issuing 33.8 million shares to finance the acquisition. BitGo shareholders will own 10% of the company. The deal broadens Galaxy’s offerings and geographic reach.
“The acquisition of BitGo establishes Galaxy Digital as a one-stop-shop for institutions and significantly accelerates our mission to institutionalize digital asset ecosystems and blockchain technology,” Novogratz, Galaxy’s New York-based chief executive officer and founder, said in a statement.
Cryptocurrency prime broker BitGo was founded in 2013 by Mike Belshe, an engineer who’s previously worked on Google’s Chrome. He’s joining Galaxy as deputy chief executive officer and will become a member of the company’s board of directors.
“Joining Galaxy Digital represents an exciting new chapter for our business, as our current clients gain access to a wide set of financial solutions,” Belshe said in a release.
BitGo, with over 400 institutional clients, has more than $40 billion in assets under custody and serves over 150 exchanges, according to a press release. The company processes roughly 30 billion transactions per month and supports the custody of more than 400 coins and tokens.
It’s the second high-profile acquisition in the crypto space in recent days. Coinbase Global Inc., the newly public crypto firm, at the end of April acquired Skew, a data analytics and trade execution platform focused on cryptocurrency derivatives.
The cryptosphere has grown in recent months as institutional and retail investors take a greater interest amid a red-hot rally in digital-asset prices. Bitcoin, the largest digital coin, has gained more than 500% over the past year. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks multiple cryptocurrencies, is up near 800% over the same period.
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