Ken Moelis' Investment Bank Creates Group to Focus on Blockchain Deals

Investment bank Moelis & Co. has started a group to focus on venture deals in the blockchain and digital asset industry, according to a press release.

• The bank is led by billionaire Ken Moelis who, in a speech last year, likened the crypto space to the 1848 gold rush.
• He remains unperturbed by a market downturn that sent bitcoin's (BTC) price plunging from $69,000 in November to $22,000, saying that “any disruptive technology is going to have volatility.”
• The group will be led by Moelis co-founder John Momtazee, who said the 30% of managing directors at the firm have crypto wallets.
• The bank was hired by crypto broker Voyager Digital in June with the intention of providing assistance in Voyager's bankruptcy proceedings.
• It has also worked with Ripple Labs and CipherTrace, a blockchain analytics company that was acquired by Mastercard (MA) in September.
• Ken Moelis has personal exposure in the crypto space after becoming an investor in Paxos in December 2020.
• The launch of the blockchain group was reported earlier by Bloomberg on Monday.

UPDATE (July 25, 2022, 14:11 UTC): Changes sourcing.