According to a WallStreet Journal report: Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange led by former New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) President Tom Farley, has acquired the cryptocurrency-focused media company CoinDesk. Bullish acquired 100% of CoinDesk in an all-cash deal, although the exact financial details were not disclosed. CoinDesk’s parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), had acquired the media outfit in 2016 for $500,000.
This acquisition announcement comes a year after CoinDesk broke the news about crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried’s financial issues that had a significant impact on the market and led to further issues for its parent company DCG.
Bullish has assured that CoinDesk’s existing management team, led by CEO Kevin Worth, will remain, and CoinDesk will continue to function as an independent subsidiary. An editorial committee is being set up to ensure journalistic independence, with the former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, Matt Murray, set to chair this committee.
Bullish, backed by high-profile investors such as Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, was launched in November 2021. The platform called off a $9 billion deal last year to go public via a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). Currently, Bullish is also one of the contenders to acquire the remnants of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
CoinDesk, operational within three business lines—media, events, and indexes—generated $50 million in revenue last year. Farley stated in an interview about expecting a significant rebound within the digital assets industry and believes that CoinDesk’s products and services are sound business lines to own during a crypto bull run.
A previous deal to purchase CoinDesk by an investor syndicate fell through earlier.
