No Love For Mike: Galaxy Digital Loses $111 Million Amid Crypto Blood Bath

Galaxy Digital, a cryptocurrency-focused financial services corporation, reported a net loss of $111.7 million for the quarter ending March 31, 2022.

Galaxy Digital Takes Hit

In the first quarter of 2022, Galaxy Digital, a cryptocurrency investment firm led by billionaire Michael Novogratz, recorded a loss of $111.7 million. The deficit is a considerable fall from the prior year’s $858.2 million profit.

The aforementioned net loss, as detailed in the company’s quarterly financial report for the months of January to March 2022, was mostly owing to the cryptocurrency market’s ongoing volatility. As stated in the report of the firm.

The following are excerpts from the report:

“The decrease was primarily related to unrealized losses on digital assets and on investments in our Tradingand Principal Investment businesses, partially offset by profitability in our Investment Banking and Mining businesses and lower operating expenses.” 

Galaxy Digital Asset Management (GDAM), the firm’s asset management division, reported $2.7 billion in assets under management, with $2 billion in Galaxy Fund Management products and $735 million in the Galaxy Interactive fund. This is more than double the $1.27 billion recorded a year ago, but represents a 5% reduction from Q4 2021.

Furthermore, mining and investment banking both increased by 775 percent and 433 percent, respectively. The firm’s partners put up $2.6 billion in capital, but it fell by 3% as net long digital positions suffered significant losses. In the first quarter, Partners Capital closed at $2.5 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2021.

The majority of the losses were caused by the cryptocurrency market’s 7% drop in the first quarter, according to the firm.

BTC/USD plummets to lowest since start of the year. Source: TradingView

Related article |Bitcoin Isn’t Good For Payments, Says Mike Novogratz

Michael Novogratz Remain Not Fazed By Market

During Galaxy’s earnings call on Monday, CEO Michael Novogratz mentioned downturn in the crypto and equity markets, but said he isn’t “panicked by any stretch.” He also mentioned that “crypto as a tech play” is gaining traction, as evidenced by his recent investor meetings.

Even if Bitcoin is down more than 50% from its record high hit in November, he remains confident about crypto’s long-term prospects due to the momentum of institutional adoptions. He cited BlackRock Inc., Blackstone Inc., Citadel, and Apollo Global Management Inc. as examples of new institutional investors who are “coming in with a very long term focus.”

He is quoted saying:

“Galaxy demonstrated yet another strong quarter against the backdrop of digital asset price declines, and I am proud to see the durability and sustained profitability of our operational business lines, including record contributions from our Investment Banking and Mining segments.”

He maintains that the company would continue to invest in developing its digital financial services.

Related article |Galaxy Digital CEO: Bitcoin Dips Should Be Bought Despite BitMEX News

Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView