CoinDesk Explores Sale as DCG Crisis Worsens

investopedia.com:

Cryptocurrency news provider CoinDesk, which broke the news that led to the collapse of FTX, hired financial advisory firm Lazard to explore a potential sale as its parent, Digital Currency Group, faces financial strain from the collapse of the cryptocurrency platform.

CoinDesk CEO Kevin Worth told The Wall Street Journal: “Over the last few months, we have received numerous inbound indications of interest in CoinDesk."

The offers for CoinDesk—coming in for months—have exceeded $200 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. CoinDesk posted $50 million in revenue for 2022 from online advertising and its index and events business, the story said.

Interest in the company, founded in 2013, intensified after parent group DCG became embroiled in the FTX collapse.DCG subsidiary Genesis Global Trading is reportedly set to file for bankruptcy this week, as the crypto lender owes creditors $3 billion.

Genesis warned of a potential bankruptcy as early as Nov. 21, 2022, after the company disclosed it had $175 million locked in the FTX group. That led to problems with the project's Earn lending program, which was a partnership with Gemini, a crypto exchange privately owned by the Winklevoss twins. Gemini was said to be owed $900 million by Genesis. The situation turned nasty recently, with Cameron Winklevoss accusing DCG of defrauding its 340,000 customers and calling for DCG CEO Barry Silbert to step down.

Digital Currency Group first acquired CoinDesk in January 2016 for a sum said to be in the region of $500,000 to $600,000.CoinDesk said at the time of the sale: “As this industry evolves and new players emerge, it’s clear that the informational needs of the individuals and companies in this space are increasing.”

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