According to Kevin Worth the Chief Executive Officer of CoinDesk, the media firm has been getting a lot of offers with no decisions made yet.
The plans to acquire mega crypto media CoinDesk, a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group (DCG) by the world’s largest crypto trading platform Binance is currently “on hold”. According to a Blockworks report citing anonymous sources, the deal was planned to be completed by Binance Capital Markets (BCM) through its CoinMarketCap subsidiary.
The news that CoinDesk was up for sale was first shared back in January as the financial struggles of DCG, acquired through the bankruptcy woes of its brokerage outfit, Genesis Trading, became public knowledge. The company decided to free up some assets in order to raise funds that it can rely on to pay its creditors. CoinDesk was one profitable arm DCG felt it could sacrifice at the time.
The exact reasons why the deal with Binance is on hold at the moment are not clear but many possibilities come to mind. First, the ownership structure of CoinMarketCap is bound to be put up for questioning. While the world’s most visited crypto analytics website has reiterated that it maintains true autonomy from Binance, the concerns that the deal will be adequately scrutinized abounds.
Per the reports, initial talks between CoinDesk and Binance recorded no major headway as the trading firm projected that many journalists from the news outlet might leave should the acquisition pull through. Binance is notably optimistic about the potential of CoinDesk as a force for good in the crypto ecosystem, strategies to finally land the crypto as its asset remains unknown at the moment.
According to Kevin Worth the Chief Executive Officer of CoinDesk, the media firm has been getting a lot of offers with no decisions made yet.
“No decisions have been made about a sale of CoinDesk or other options we are exploring to attract growth capital to the business. This is an ongoing process and there is no set timeline,” he said.
Binance on CoinDesk: Long-Term Flair for the Media
The Binance exchange as a crypto trading platform has always had its eye on taking a sizable position in a crypto media platform. Back in 2020, the company announced it is investing $200 million into Forbes, one of the most prestigious media outlets in the world.
The deal with Forbes did not pull through as the company’s Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger with Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited (NYSE: OPA) was terminated back in June 2022. Following the Forbes push, Binance has also made strategic investments in Twitter.
The exchange’s CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao supported Elon Musk’s acquisition bid with the sum of $500 million as a minority stakeholder. The proposed pursuit of CoinDesk will be its own way of establishing a new foothold in an industry it currently dominates.
Without a defined timeline for the deal to be completed, Binance is still in tough competition with other interested investors in CoinDesk including Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.
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