Bitstamp and NXMH have shocked the crypto market by reaching an agreement that has made headlines worldwide because of its possible implications. According to the news agency Reuters, the latter acquired the former today, Monday October 29th, in a deal described as “all cash.”
NXMH is known as one of the most prominent family investment holding companies in the world. It manages more than 2 billion euros worth of assets in its business of investing in consumer and tech-related items and services, focusing on majority buy-outs.
The company is a subsidiary of NXC Corp., which is a media international firm based in South Korea. NXC Corp. has shown interest in the crypto industry for quite some time now, as it acquired more than 65 percent of a local exchange named Korbit.
A Deal Had Been Negotiated for Months
The deal had been “cooking” for a while now, as Nexon Korea, a video game company managed by the NXC Corp., shot down rumors of a possible down back in April.
The agreement between the two companies was closed on October 25th, according to Nejc Kodric, who acts as the CEO of Bitstamp. However, the executive of the exchange registered under the jurisdiction of Luxembourg did not provide the terms of the agreement.
Kodric also explained to Reuters that the exchange was valued at $60 million two years ago, a $21 million increase of what it was worth in 2014, evidencing the continuous growth of Bitstamp within the industry.
Both Companies Will Keep Working Independently
Despite the acquisition of Bitstamp, both companies will remain working independently, as they will be managed as such. After the pact, the South Korean business owns 80 percent of Bitstamp. Kodric holds another 10 percent and will retain his duties as the CEO of the firm. In the same operation, it was also reported that NXMH bought a portion of crypto hedge fund Pantera’s Capital stake valued at $10 million.
Damian Merlak, who co-founded Bitstamp with the help of Kodric “out of a garage in Slovenia,” sold his 30% stake in the deal. According to the latter, Merlak has not been ‘active’ for three years now. The two only had a couple of laptops, one thousand euros, and one server at the time, precisely 2011.
Kodric explained to Reuters that Bitstamp was not planning on selling. However, and since the industry peaked last year and woke up continued interest from several flanks, they started fielding approaches in the middle of 2017, but there was not an active desire or subsequent actions to request meetings with potential buyers.
Holding its Own in the Market
Bitstamp has mostly held its own despite the current market crash in the crypto industry. Trading volumes have decreased by more than 60 percent in 2018, but overall, the value of tokens has been higher on average than the numbers they showed for the majority of 2017. Bitstamp, which occupies the 47th place in the cryptocurrency exchange ranking according to the specialized site CoinMarketCap, had a trading volume of almost $22 million in the last day at the time of this writing.
By Andres Chavez
