Bullish has acquired CoinDesk in an all-cash deal. Terms of the purchase were not immediately available. CoinDesk had been controlled by Digital Currency Group, operators of multiple digital asset firms including Grayscale. The current management of CoinDesk is expected to remain in place. Bullish is registered and regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission and does not (yet) offer services in the US.
Bullish is a smaller crypto exchange with big ambitions. Founded by former NYSE President Tom Farley, recent reports indicated that Farley had partnered with several others in a deal that aims to reanimate FTX – once one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world before it collapsed into bankruptcy.
According to WSJ.com, CoinDesk will operate as an independent subsidiary with editorial independence. Former Editor in Chief of WSJ Matt Murray will chair the editorial committee overseeing CoinDesk.
Farley was quoted by WSJ expressing his optimism for the digital asset sector:
“We believe that there is a rebound of the digital assets industry that has already begun. Some of CoinDesk’s products and services are just darn good businesses that we want to own in a crypto bull run.”
In August, CoinDesk laid off some of its staff in a move to reduce costs.
CoinDesk emerged in 2013 on the eve of rapid growth in the crypto sector, fueled by Bitcoin and the rise of initial coin offerings. The company was acquired by the Digital Currency Group in 2016.
