Michael Novogratz, former hedge fund manager and founder of Galaxy Digital, a full-service cryptocurrency merchant bank, claims that developments related to the controversial Facebook-led Libra project may have had a negative impact on the digital asset market, causing Bitcoin and Ethereum prices to decline sharply.
Says Novogratz,
“While the third quarter proved to be another challenging one for the cryptocurrency markets broadly, the teams here at Galaxy Digital continued to make forward progress across each of our three primary operating business lines as well as to conservatively allocate new capital where we saw pockets of clear value in the industry.”
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“While Galaxy Digital Trading trading volumes decreased [during Q3 2019,] along with declines in the overall market, the business increased market share as its volumes decelerated at a slower pace than the broader market, as indicated by volumes on trusted exchanges.
The reduction in broad market activity can be attributed to several factors, including geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty stemming from Libra, regulatory concerns related to international exchanges, and general de-levering during the summer months.”
Galaxy Digital currently has $336 million worth of assets under management. According to the company’s Q3 financial report, $11 million of these assets are part of the Galaxy Benchmark Crypto Index Fund and $325 million have been allocated to the EOS Fund.
In late October 2019, Novogratz said that the Libra stablecoin project and Telegram’s TON network were bullish for the cryptocurrency industry.
The company states,
“The current quarter’s loss was largely a result of an unrealized loss on digital assets, i.e. cryptocurrencies which trade continuously in the market, and operating expenses. The unrealized loss was primarily on the Partnership’s holdings of Bitcoin and Ethereum, whose prices fell during the three months ended September 30, 2019.”