Galaxy Digital Acquires CryptoManufaktur, Enhances its ETH Staking

Key Takeaways

• The acquisition brings around $1 billion of Ethereum assets under stake, raising Galaxy’s total to $3.3 billion.
• The acquisition includes CMF’s operations, engineering teams, and associated assets, increasing Galaxy’s serviced assets under stake by about 43%

Galaxy Digital, the publicly traded crypto firm led by Michael Novogratz, has announced the acquisition of CryptoManufaktur LLC (CMF), a prominent blockchain node operator. 

The acquisition includes CMF’s operations, engineering teams, and associated assets, increasing Galaxy’s serviced assets under stake by about 43%, according to the press release.

Founded in 2020 by Thorsten Behrens, CMF has become a notable player in blockchain infrastructure. “Galaxy’s acquisition of CMF’s assets is an exciting step in our company’s journey and a testament to the strength of our team and track record of building essential blockchain infrastructure,” said Behrens.

“We believe that Galaxy is uniquely positioned to serve as the go-to blockchain infrastructure provider and a leading validator across high-performing blockchains. We look forward to joining the team and scaling our combined operations”, he added.

As of July 18, 2024, Galaxy’s Assets Under Stake represent the total notional value of assets bonded to Galaxy validators, including certain Galaxy balance sheet assets, affiliate assets, and third-party assets.

CMF was initially launched in 2020 to build infrastructure for the blockchain oracle project Chainlink and later expanded into automated proof-of-stake node deployment on Ethereum. The acquisition brings approximately $1 billion of Ethereum assets under stake, raising Galaxy’s total to $3.3 billion.

“Galaxy is rapidly expanding its blockchain infrastructure and staking capabilities to provide enterprise-grade technical expertise and support to strategic areas of the digital-asset ecosystem,” said Zane Glauber, who heads Galaxy’s blockchain infrastructure team. “Our acquisition of CMF is an important milestone that enhances our position as a leading technical partner to protocols and builders.”

Through this acquisition, Galaxy increased its staked ETH by approximately 43%. Thai development should be viewed against the backdrop of the anticipated approval of U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, which could cause a surge in ETH prices, potentially reaching $5,000, according to several industry experts.

The crypto space had also witnessed a notable surge in staking activities in recent years, with over 33 million ETH tokens currently staked, representing approximately 27% of the total ETH supply.