TORONTO – Mike Novogratz said he spent nearly four years trying to hire the Crypto Firm Galaxy Digital Public in the US.
“It felt American, unfair, infuriating,” Novograts said.
Novogratz told CNBC that the process that takes between 45 and 90 days has grown to 1,320 days. He said he needs nine rounds of comment with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“One thing people didn’t understand about crypto tax is that they need to be a very, very large and powerful company just to stay in the game,” he said.
The billionaire crypto mogul finally rang the Nasdaq opening bell under Nasdaq’s ticker Glxy on Friday, and his company is trading in the US open market for the first time on the direct list.
Novogratz said the Galaxy’s audit costs are significantly higher than that of companies like Jefferies. This is the result of scrutiny of regulations that come with being a crypto company. He said he expects these charges to be reduced by up to 40% as Galaxy is listed on the Nasdaq.
But instead of breaking the galaxy, the ordeal seemed to enhance it.
“Rare makes you more difficult,” Novograts said. “We funded us primarily through investment benefits and transactions.”
“We weren’t the only ones suffering,” Novograts said. Etroan Israeli trading platform, released on the Nasdaq this week. That list is one of the first major fintech IPOs since 2021, showing that investors’ desire for Crypto-Adjacent companies has returned after years of regulatory attention and market volatility.
Until now, US regulators were wary of code, and the Toronto Stock Exchange, where the New York-based company was released in 2020, had Galaxy Digital’s home on the open market, on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
TSX has become a test ground for digital asset companies that have not been able to gain traction in the US market despite US investors and capital looming across the border.
But for Novograts, who had always had a great ambition, the United States was a key stage.
“Our visibility, volume and infamy to the Canadian market and the US are 1-30. The US market is 30 times deeper,” he said. “If we were in the US market for the last four years, we would be a different company.”
The former hedge fund manager has become a crypto entrepreneur and has built a reputation for direct and candid conversations. In Washington, he witnessed firsthand how codes evolved from Fringe’s curiosity to a central issue in American politics.
“I was on the Vice President’s first ball as a representative Democrat,” Novograts said.
In a room of about 300 participants, he said he counted around 20 Crypto CEOs, an impressive show of growing industry influence in Washington.
“I mean, it was shocking – the code representatives at DC inauguration – and Democrats realized that. So seriously, I think there’s a core group of Democrats, and perhaps the majority of Democrats.
The turning point came in the election of President Donald Trump, a political change that Novograts saw as unfolding in real time.
“The flips have been switched…the old administration knew that a new administration was coming, so they began to be much more supportive,” he said.
A conversation that had once been closed suddenly opened.
Novogratz met the next SEC Chairman Paul Atkins around the time of his inauguration. Atkins wasn’t in that role yet, but his stance was clear – he prioritized fair disclosure and honest pro-business, pro-risk. Their conversation was high level and focused on the regulatory approach, but left Novograts with a sense of optimism.
“Ringing the bell is more like the starting line, not the finish line,” Novograts said.
Source link
