Galaxy, Led by Mike Novogratz, Buys Nearly All of CryptoManufaktur Ethereum Assets

Galaxy Digital, the publicly traded crypto company led by Michael Novogratz, has acquired substantially all of the assets of blockchain node operator CryptoManufaktur LLC, in a deal that will increase the company’s Ethereum assets under stake by approximately 43%.

The deal with CryptoManufaktur, known as CMF, was announced in a press release provided exclusively to CoinDesk. Terms were not disclosed.

CMF founder Thorsten Behrens, as part of a three-person engineering team, will join Galaxy’s blockchain infrastructure team, which provides blockchain staking and validation services to qualified investors, protocols and digital asset platforms, according to the press release.

CMF, launched in 2020, was originally launched to build the infrastructure for blockchain oracle project Chainlink, and later expanded to run an infrastructure for automated deployment of proof-of-stake nodes on Ethereum. The deal includes approximately $1 billion in Ethereum assets at stake, bringing Galaxy’s total to $3.3 billion.

Galaxy has expanded into blockchain infrastructure, adding cryptocurrency trading and investment management to its core business lines. Novogratz is a widely followed figure in the crypto space and on business television networks like CNBC, in part because of his deep experience on Wall Street, having served as an executive at Goldman Sachs and the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group.

“Galaxy is rapidly expanding its blockchain infrastructure and staking capabilities to provide enterprise-grade technical expertise and support to strategic sectors of the digital asset ecosystem,” said Zane Glauber, head of Galaxy’s blockchain infrastructure team, in the release. “Our acquisition of CMF is an important milestone that significantly strengthens our position as a premier technical partner for protocols and builders.”

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