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Galaxy Digital Q1 AUM Rose 58%, Net Comprehensive Income More Than Doubles

Galaxy Digital said in March, Morgan Stanley began offering its wealth management clients access to a number of its bitcoin funds.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:56 p.m. Published May 17, 2021, 3:58 p.m.

Galaxy Digital, the cryptocurrency-focused financial services firm run by Michael Novogratz, says its assets under management (AUM) increased 58% in Q1.

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In an announcement Monday, the Toronto Stock Exchange-listed company reported its net comprehensive income grew to $860 million from $336 million in the year-earlier quarter. The firm’s counterparty loan originations increased over 510%.

On May 6, Galaxy Digital announced an agreement to buy BitGo, the U.S.-regulated crypto custody specialist, for $1.2 billion in stock and cash. The acquisition is expected to close in the Q4, subject to approval by regulators and the firm’s shareholders.

"Beyond delivering dramatic organic growth, we announced we will acquire BitGo, which will establish Galaxy Digital as the first full-service digital asset financial platform for institutions and ensure our business is aligned with broader institutional adoption," said Novogratz, the Galaxy CEO, in a statement.

Net realized gains from investments were $151.1 million in the quarter. Income from the company’s trading business was $508.7 million in Q1, up from a loss of $31.5 million in the year-earlier period.

The firm said its asset management arm, Galaxy Digital Asset Management, reported total AUM of $1.27 billion at March 31, consisting of $950.0 million in GDAM's Galaxy Fund Management products, and $325.0 million in the Galaxy Interactive fund.

Recently the firm launched the CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCX) on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Galaxy Ethereum Funds. Galaxy Digital announced in March Morgan Stanley began offering its wealth management clients access to a number of its bitcoin funds.

The company also said it has appointed Erin Brown as its chief operating officer effective immediately. Previously, Brown was chief risk officer at the proprietary trading firm Jump Trading.

Mike Novogratz ETFs Galaxy Digital Earnings

Tanzeel Akhtar

Tanzeel Akhtar has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes Africa, Financial Times, The Street, Citywire, Investing.com, Euromoney, Yahoo! Finance, Benzinga, Kitco News, African Business Magazine, Hedge Week, Campden Family Office, Modern Investor, Spear's Wealth Management Magazine, Global Investor, ETF.com, ETF Stream, CIO UK, Funds Global Asia, Portfolio Institutional, Interactive Investor, Bitcoin Magazine, CryptoNews.com, Bitcoin.com, The Local, The Next Web, Mining Journal, Money Marketing, Marketing Week and more. Tanzeel trained as a foreign correspondent at the University of Helsinki, Finland and newspaper journalist at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She holds a BA (Honours) in English Literature from the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and completed a semester abroad as an ERASMUS student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is NCTJ Qualified - Media Law, Public Administration and passed the Shorthand 100WPM with distinction. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.