By
Steve Muchoki
April 4th, 2024
Galaxy Digital revealed quite the loss in its Q1 2022 report and has blamed unrealized losses from digital assets for the plunge.
Crypto merchants bank Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd (TSE: GLXY) recently posted its Q1 financial report for 2022, which showed a sizable loss of $111.7 million. The loss for the period ended March 31st came amid a general slump in the prices of digital currencies. In addition, it also compares to the $858.2 million gain that Galaxy Digital recorded in the same quarter a year ago.
The magnitude of Galaxy Digital’s loss certainly did not surprise the financial services and investment management platform. This is because it earlier warned of a possible loss of up to $130 million region for the first quarter. At the time, Galaxy Digital stated that this was due to market volatility.
Galaxy Digital on its Q1 2022 Earnings Report
Galaxy Digital attributed its Q1 2022 underperformance to unrealized losses on digital assets. In addition, the crypto firm also listed its investments in its trading and investment businesses as reasons for setbacks. However, Galaxy Digital partially offset its heavy first-quarter loss with profits from the investment banking and mining units. For instance, net comprehensive income in Investment Banking surged 775%, while Mining climbed 433% compared to the same period last year.
Despite some of the external hiccups experienced by Galaxy Digital, founder and CEO Michael Novogratz chose to see the silver lining. According to the billionaire investor:
“Galaxy demonstrated yet another strong quarter against the backdrop of digital asset price declines, and I am proud to see the durability and sustained profitability of our operational business lines, including record contributions from our Investment Banking and Mining segments.”
Furthermore, Novogratz capped off by stating:
“We continue to invest in our people, platforms, and technology as we build the pre-eminent technology-driven financial services and investment management firm.”
For the quarter, Galaxy Digital Asset Management (GDAM), recorded assets under management (AUM) of $2.7 billion. Of this sum, $2 billion was in GDAM’s Galaxy Fund Management products, with $735 million in the Galaxy Interactive fund. The recorded $2.7 billion in AUM is more than double the $1.27 billion recorded last year. However, it is 5% less than the preceding quarter.
The company’s shares GLXY, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, were trading around 3.83% lower in pre-market trading. Furthermore, following its earnings report, Galaxy digital will be holding an investor conference call today at 8:30 AM Eastern Time.
Galaxy Digital
Galaxy Digital offers a wide array of businesses with crypto trading, asset management, and mining as the most popular ones. However, the company also operates other businesses including investment banking and principal investments. Headquartered in New York City, Galaxy Digital also has offices in Chicago, Jersey City, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and the Cayman Islands.
In early April, Galaxy Digital renegotiated the purchase terms for crypto custodian BitGo. The crypto merchants bank now awaits approval by the SEC.