Bullish, led by former NYSE President Tom Farley, has sealed the acquisition of CoinDesk, the crypto-focused media company.

The all-cash deal signifies a shift in ownership for CoinDesk, previously under Digital Currency Group since a $500,000 purchase in 2016.

What Will Happen To CoinDesk?

This acquisition, coming a year post CoinDesk's impactful revelations about Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto realm, assures that CoinDesk's existing management, headed by CEO Kevin Worth, will continue to lead.

Bullish asserts that CoinDesk will operate as an autonomous subsidiary under its umbrella.

To maintain journalistic autonomy, CoinDesk plans to establish an editorial committee.

Matt Murray, ex-editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, will chair this committee, emphasising editorial independence.

Established in November 2021, Bullish is backed by investors like Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.

Farley, Bullish's CEO and former NYSE president (2014-2018), expresses optimism, stating:

"We believe that there is a rebound of the digital assets industry that has already begun."

He also said:

"Bullish will immediately inject capital into several of CoinDesk's most exciting growth initiatives which will power the launch of new services, events and products."

Bullish aims to leverage its resources to expand CoinDesk's reach, especially in Asia.

CoinDesk, with revenues reaching $50 million in the past year, operates across media, events, and indexes.

Farley envisions Bullish investing significantly in CoinDesk's growth, exploring opportunities like expanding the conference business into Asia.

Previous Attempts

This acquisition follows Bullish's earlier failed attempt and subsequent interest from investors like Matthew Roszak and Peter Vessenes.

Bullish's commitment to invest substantially in CoinDesk aligns with a broader strategy to capitalise on the resurgence of the digital assets industry.

In recent years, CoinDesk's parent company, DCG, faced financial tribulations, with its lending subsidiary, Genesis Global Capital, filing for bankruptcy.

CoinDesk, responding to market shifts, engaged Lazard in January to explore strategic options, including potential sales, and later implemented internal staff cuts in August.

How Much Did Bullish Buy Coindesk For?

The financial specifics of the deal remain undisclosed, but Coinlive will update this segment when more information comes along.

We do, however, have a ballpark of how much it might higher it might have went for.

CoinDesk reportedly received unsolicited offers exceeding $200 million in January this year, although the specific interested parties remain largely undisclosed.

They did not accept the offer then.

Binance and its subsidiary CoinMarketCap were also considering the acquisition of CoinDesk, but eventually decided against it.