BitGo Sues Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital for $100M After Scrapped Acquisition

The digital asset custodian wants Galaxy Digital to pay up after terminating its planned purchase.

2 min read

Sep 13, 2022

Digital asset custodian BitGo has filed a lawsuit against crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital, following through on its announced plan to seek more than $100 million in damages after Galaxy pulled out of its planned acquisition of the company.

BitGo filed the suit late Monday, the company tweeted this morning. The firm previously stated in August that it would do just that, shortly after Galaxy Digital axed the deal citing “BitGo's failure to deliver, by July 31, 2022, audited financial statements for 2021 that comply with the requirements of our agreement.”

“Late yesterday, BitGo filed a lawsuit against Galaxy Digital seeking damages of more than $100 million arising from Galaxy’s improper repudiation and intentional breach of its merger agreement with BitGo,” the firm tweeted today.

BitGo said that it filed the lawsuit in Delaware’s Chancery Court, with attorney Brian Timmons of firm Quinn Emanuel claiming that it was sealed to give the company a chance to redact any potentially sensitive information in the coming days. The company said that it should be available to view soon after the end of the business day on Thursday.

Galaxy Digital announced plans to acquire BitGo in May 2021 in a $1.2 billion deal consisting of cash and stock. However, the deal still hadn’t closed more than a year later, prompting questions ahead of Galaxy’s mid-August announcement about terminating the deal.

BitGo claimed that Galaxy Digital owed a $100 million termination fee, while Galaxy Digital said that it would not incur a fee by pulling out of the deal. Galaxy Digital—which was founded by billionaire CEO Mike Novogratz—recently posted a $554 million loss in Q2 2022, which was announced one week before the firm terminated the BitGo acquisition.

Get crypto news straight to your inbox--

sign up for the Decrypt Daily below. (It’s free).

Get Email!

Apple Admits to Security Vulnerability That Leaves Crypto Users Exposed—Here's What You Should Do

Apple confirmed Monday its devices were left vulnerable to an exploit that allowed for remote malicious code execution through web-based JavaScript, opening up an attack vector that could have part unsuspecting victims from their crypto. According to a recent Apple security disclosure, users must use the latest versions of its JavaScriptCore and WebKit software to patch the vulnerability. The bug, discovered by researchers at Google's threat analysis group, allows for “processing maliciously cr...

Solana Hits All-Time High Price Two Years After FTX Nearly Sent It to Zero

After three long years, Solana (SOL) has finally broken its all-time high price record, setting a new milestone above $260 on Thursday. Solana rose above the previous $260 record mark early Thursday afternoon, per data from Coinbase, continuing the asset's recent hot streak following the U.S. presidential election win of crypto candidate Donald Trump earlier this month. The jump also came following word that Gary Gensler, the SEC Chairman who led the regulator's crypto industry crackdown, will r...

MicroStrategy Stock Sinks 16% As Bitcoin Nears $100K—Is It Too Hot to Handle?

MicroStrategy shares fell 16% to $397.28 Thursday, following statements from influential investment firm Citron Research that it placed a short position against the company while maintaining a long position in Bitcoin. The disclosure reveals mounting concerns about the company’s stock being overvalued due to what some perceive as an overly excessive company valuation. Citron Research claimed Bitcoin investing has been "easier than ever," citing ETFs and stocks available on trading platforms Coin...