Mike Novogratz, the ardent supporter and proponent of Bitcoin (BTC) has invested $15 million in a cryptocurrency startup company, AlphaPoint, through his Galaxy Digital Ventures fund. The former macro trader of Wall Street wants to expand his hold in the virtual currency world and hence has invested in the New York-based company that is using blockchain-based technology to launch trading platforms and to tokenize assets.
Novogratz confident in cryptocurrency despite downward trend
It should be noted that except for a few ups last month, the cryptocurrency market is showing a significant downward trend since the end of last year. Even so, the one-time billionaire is confident of the rise of cryptocurrency in the days to come. Apart from the former macro-trader for Fortress Investment Group, there are several other companies that have invested with AlphaPoint including commodity giant CME Group, Royal Mint of England, and more.
Apart from these companies with high-profile projects, AlphaPoint has other customers investing in its white-label exchange service. These include Muirfield Investment Partners, a private equity investment firm dealing in real estate and Bitt from Barbados, which currently is working with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
Funds from Novogratz to help AlphaPoint grow
According to reports, the CEO of the startup company, Salil Donde, is planning to use the amount for the expansion of his company. The expansion plans of the early entrant into the cryptocurrency world include adding multiple assets that cannot be traded traditionally.
The managing director of Galaxy Digital Capital Management, Greg Wasserman, will join the Board of Directors of AlphaPoint. According to the CEO and Founder of Galaxy Ventures, Novogratz, “We are in the early stages of a fundamental transformation in financial markets due to the digitization of assets. […] We are excited to partner with AlphaPoint as we continue to help drive this revolutionary change in digital markets.”
Prior to this investment, Novogratz teamed up with Bloomberg to introduce the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI), a joint index fund.
A recent announcement by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) surprised crypto traders as it came out with clarifications for the classification of crypto assets. According to the SEC, Ethereum (ETH) and a few other cryptos will not be considered as securities.
