CoinDesk bought by crypto exchange Bullish

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

After FTX’s collapse led to financial woes for CoinDesk’s parent company, the cryptocurrency news site is getting acquired. Bullish, a crypto exchange run by former New York Stock Exchange president Tom Farley, purchased the entire site in an undisclosed all-cash deal, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The acquisition won’t affect CoinDesk’s existing management team, with the outlet operating “as an independent subsidiary within Bullish.” CoinDesk will also launch an editorial committee led by former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray.

While CoinDesk first exposed the hole in FTX’s balance sheet last November, the aftermath caused issues for its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG). DCG is a crypto-focused venture capital company that acquired CoinDesk in 2016 for $500,000. However, DCG’s crypto lender subsidiary, Genesis, had funds tied up in FTX, leading to its collapse. Genesis sued DCG in September in an attempt to recover $620 million in unpaid loans. Both DCG and Genesis also face a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James over claims the companies misled investors and caused the loss of over $1 billion.

2/ I’m incredibly proud of CoinDesk’s growth & development over the last seven years and its transformation into an award-winning media & events company and the most trusted information platform for digital assets

We look forward to seeing Bullish take CoinDesk to the next level

— Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) November 20, 2023

Barry Silbert, the founder of DCG, writes on X (formerly Twitter) that CoinDesk was one of the company’s “best investments of all time,” adding he’s “incredibly proud of CoinDesk’s growth & development over the last seven years and its transformation into an award-winning media & events company.”

CoinDesk reported on the news, but its report doesn’t confirm the acquisition. As noted by the Journal, CoinDesk first started exploring a potential sale in January and laid off around 16 percent of workers in August.

“With its acclaimed editorial coverage, premier events and market-leading data and indices, CoinDesk continues to shape the global crypto and blockchain ecosystem,” Farley says in a statement. “Bullish will immediately inject capital into several of CoinDesk’s most exciting growth initiatives which will power the launch of new services, events and products.”

Bullish is also in the running to purchase what’s left of FTX, the Journal reported earlier this month, potentially allowing the company to reboot the fallen exchange.

Update November 20th, 10:20AM ET: Added clarification that DCG’s Genesis had funds tied up in FTX.

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CoinDesk bought by crypto exchange Bullish

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

After FTX’s collapse led to financial woes for CoinDesk’s parent company, the cryptocurrency news site is getting acquired. Bullish, a crypto exchange run by former New York Stock Exchange president Tom Farley, purchased the entire site in an undisclosed all-cash deal, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The acquisition won’t affect CoinDesk’s existing management team, with the outlet operating “as an independent subsidiary within Bullish.” CoinDesk will also launch an editorial committee led by former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray.

While CoinDesk first exposed the hole in FTX’s balance sheet last November, the aftermath caused issues for its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG). DCG is a crypto-focused venture capital company that acquired CoinDesk in 2016 for $500,000. However, DCG’s crypto lender subsidiary, Genesis, had funds tied up in FTX, leading to its collapse. Genesis sued DCG in September in an attempt to recover $620 million in unpaid loans. Both DCG and Genesis also face a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James over claims the companies misled investors and caused the loss of over $1 billion.

2/ I’m incredibly proud of CoinDesk’s growth & development over the last seven years and its transformation into an award-winning media & events company and the most trusted information platform for digital assets

We look forward to seeing Bullish take CoinDesk to the next level

— Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) November 20, 2023

Barry Silbert, the founder of DCG, writes on X (formerly Twitter) that CoinDesk was one of the company’s “best investments of all time,” adding he’s “incredibly proud of CoinDesk’s growth & development over the last seven years and its transformation into an award-winning media & events company.”

CoinDesk reported on the news, but its report doesn’t confirm the acquisition. As noted by the Journal, CoinDesk first started exploring a potential sale in January and laid off around 16 percent of workers in August.

“With its acclaimed editorial coverage, premier events and market-leading data and indices, CoinDesk continues to shape the global crypto and blockchain ecosystem,” Farley says in a statement. “Bullish will immediately inject capital into several of CoinDesk’s most exciting growth initiatives which will power the launch of new services, events and products.”

Bullish is also in the running to purchase what’s left of FTX, the Journal reported earlier this month, potentially allowing the company to reboot the fallen exchange.

Update November 20th, 10:20AM ET: Added clarification that DCG’s Genesis had funds tied up in FTX.

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We StartupNews.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.

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