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BitGo

BitGo has accused Galaxy of “improper repudiation” and “intentional breach” of the merger in a lawsuit filed with Delaware Chancery Court.

Digital asset custodian BitGo has filed a lawsuit against Mike Novogratz’s cryptocurrency investment firm Galaxy Digital for terminating the former's acquisition.

BitGo took to Twitter on Tuesday to disclose details of its lawsuit against Galaxy after the latter terminated the $1.2 billion acquisition deal with BitGo in mid-August.

Filed on Monday, the lawsuit seeks more than $100 million in damages, accusing Galaxy of “improper repudiation” and “intentional breach” of its acquisition agreement with BitGo, the firm said.

BitGo said they filed the lawsuit with Delaware Chancery Court, stressing that the court documents are expected to become public on Thursday evening. That is in “an abundance of caution” in the event Galaxy wants to “redact some of the allegations before the complaint becomes public,” BitGo noted in a tweet.

As previously reported, Galaxy terminated the BitGo acquisition on Aug. 15. The company argued that it exercised its right to drop the deal in line with the merger agreement after BitGo failed to deliver audited financial statements for 2021.

Galaxy CEO Novogratz said that it was still pursuing its path to the United States listing on Nasdaq. Galaxy also stated that they plan to vigorously defend the firm in a potential case as Galaxy believed that BitGo’s claims were “without merit.”

Both BitGo and Galaxy declined to provide additional comments regarding the lawsuit to Cointelegraph.

The news comes amid BitGo continuing to develop more products and services. The company on Tuesday announced the launch of its Wealth Management platform, aiming to allow registered investment advisors and broker-dealers to have direct access to digital assets.

Founded in 2013, BitGo is a major global digital currency firm focusing exclusively on serving institutional clients, providing custody, liquidity, and security solutions. Last year, the firm reported over $64 billion in assets under custody.

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Brazil brokerage giant with 3.6M clients launches BTC and ETH trading

August 16, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

XP Inc has become the latest Brazilian fintech player to offer crypto trading services, following Nubank and MercadoLibre.

Brazilian brokerage giant XP Inc has officially launched its crypto trading platform ‘XTAGE' in Brazil, bringing a potential 3.6 million users to the crypto markets.

The news was broke in an Aug. 15 post by the Nasdaq Exchange Twitter account, noting that XP had rung the exchange's “Opening Bell” to celebrate the launch of the XTAGE digital assets trading platform.

.@xpinvestimentos joins us for the Opening Bell to celebrate the XTAGE digital assets trading platform.

Leveraging @NasdaqExchange’s technology, XTAGE represents a key milestone in democratizing access to the digital assets market in Brazil. pic.twitter.com/DS3RXtWVpb
— Nasdaq Exchange (@NasdaqExchange) August 15, 2022

Initially, XP Inc's 3.6 million clients will have access to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading, but the broker told Cointelegraph back in May there were plans to "support other digital assets and investment products based on crypto assets in the future.”

Developed in partnership with major American stock exchange Nasdaq and crypto custody firm BitGo, XTAGE is fully integrated into the XP ecosystem, allowing users to make crypto trades on its existing app.

However, XP Director of Financial Products, Lucas Rabechini told Reuters in a July interview only clients with an "adequate investment profile for such operations" will be allowed into the XTAGE platform.

Built on Nasdaq's trading technology, XTAGE also has integration with MetaTrade 5, a forex and stock trading tool.

Crypto custody firm BitGo is set to act as custodian, storing most of XTAGE's assets in cold wallets not connected to the internet.

Brazil competitors

XP Inc is just the latest Brazilian fintech player to offer crypto trading services, following in the footsteps of Nubank and MercadoLibre.

Nubank, the largest digital bank in Brazil and Latin America, announced a partnership with Paxos in May of this year.

Following the announcement, customers were able to start buying, selling, and storing cryptocurrencies directly through Nubank.

While MercadoPago, the fintech arm of MercadoLibre, announced their Brazilian customers could buy, sell and hold BTC, ETH, and U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin Pax Dollar (USDP) in December of 2021.

BitGo to sue Galaxy Digital for $100M over dropped acquisition

August 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BitGo

"Either Galaxy owes BitGo a $100 million termination fee as promised or it has been acting in bad faith and faces damages of that much or more," said R. Brian Timmons.

Digital asset custodian BitGo said it planned to seek more than $100 million in damages from Galaxy Digital, alleging the investment firm owed the funds as part of a “reverse break fee” in its decision to terminate an acquisition agreement.

In a Monday blog post, BitGo referred to Galaxy’s actions as “improper” in claiming a breach of contract to drop an agreement to acquire the digital asset custodian. BitGo has enlisted the services of law firm Quinn Emanuel to pursue legal action against Galaxy for not paying a “$100 million reverse break fee it had promised back in March 2022.”

According to Galaxy, BitGo failed to provide audited financial statements for 2021 by July 31, 2022 as part of the acquisition agreement, a claim Quinn Emanuel partner R. Brian Timmons denied:

“The attempt by Mike Novogratz and Galaxy Digital to blame the termination on BitGo is absurd [...] Either Galaxy owes BitGo a $100 million termination fee as promised or it has been acting in bad faith and faces damages of that much or more.”

Galaxy announced its intention to acquire BitGo in May 2021 as part of plans to go public in the United States. Following a delay at the end of the first quarter of 2022 during which Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz said the firm had “adjusted the deal some,” the acquisition was expected to go through between Q2 and Q4 2022.

“We believe BitGo’s claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously,” a spokesperson for Galaxy told Cointelegraph. “BitGo did not provide certain BitGo financial statements needed by Galaxy for its SEC filing. Galaxy’s Board of Directors then made the decision to exercise its contractual right to terminate.”

It’s unclear if the recent market downturn was a factor in the deal potentially falling through. Galaxy originally said it planned to pay roughly $1.2 billion in stock and cash in 2021. BitGo said on Monday it had more than $64 billion in assets in custody at the end of 2021 and “client growth continues into 2022.”

BitGo to Sue Galaxy Digital for $100M Termination Fee

August 15, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Galaxy Digital terminates BitGo acquisition, citing breach of contract

August 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BitGo

After announcing plans to acquire BitGo in May 2021, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital has eventually dropped the deal but is still pursuing a listing in the United States.

After more than a year of efforts to acquire the digital asset custodian BitGo, Mike Novogratz’s cryptocurrency investment firm Galaxy Digital has decided to drop the acquisition.

Galaxy has terminated the BitGo acquisition, citing a breach of contract, the firm officially announced on Monday.

According to the statement, Galaxy exercised its right to terminate the deal in line with the acquisition agreement after BitGo failed to deliver audited financial statements for 2021 by July 31, 2022. Galaxy noted that no termination fee is payable in connection with the termination.

As previously reported, Galaxy originally announced plans to acquire BitGo in May 2021 as part of its plans to go public in the United States. Following multiple delays in the acquisition, Galaxy was expecting to finalize the transaction by the end of 2022.

Despite winding down the BitGo acquisition, Galaxy still continues its path to the U.S. listing on Nasdaq, CEO Novogratz said, stating:

"Galaxy remains positioned for success and to take advantage of strategic opportunities to grow in a sustainable manner. We are committed to continuing our process to list in the United States.”

As part of the U.S. listing plans, Galaxy is working to reorganize its operations to become a Delaware-based company. The firm previously expected Delaware domestication to become effective between Q2 and Q4 of 2022, subject to a review process with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Galaxy also remains focused on launching new products including its upcoming offering, Galaxy One Prime. Targeting institutional investors, Galaxy One Prime provides services like trading, lending and derivatives alongside access to qualified custody that integrates “qualified blue-chip custodians.”

BitGo and Galaxy Digital did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

BitGo

Brazil competitors

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