BitGo acquires NYDIG's institutional trading business. The timing is immaculate. Crypto trading rebounds just as BitGo decides it needs more institutional capabilities. What are the odds.
Institutional capabilities. That's what we're calling it now. BitGo looked at NYDIG's trading desk and thought, "You know what would make this crypto winter warmer? Buying someone else's infrastructure right as the marks start logging back into Coinbase." NYDIG gets to unload a trading business during a prolonged slump. BitGo gets to pretend it timed the bottom. Everyone wins except the guy who bought at $69,000 and is now reading this headline thinking the bull market is back.
The press release probably used the word synergy. It definitely used the phrase strategic acquisition. What it means is BitGo saw retail traders starting to check their portfolios again without crying and decided to spend money on desks and Bloomberg terminals before the next rug pull.
Institutional trading. That's the crypto industry's way of saying "people who know better than to use Robinhood." These are the firms that trade size. They have risk managers. They wear ties on Zoom calls. They still lose money, but they lose it with PowerPoint decks and compliance officers present.
NYDIG built an institutional trading business during the boom. Then the boom ended. Then they held onto it during the prolonged slump. Then they sold it to BitGo right as signs of life appeared in the market. This is called selling low with extra steps.
Retail will see this headline and think institutions are buying. Institutions will see this headline and think other institutions are buying. Nobody is buying. BitGo is just acquiring the ability to lose money on behalf of pension funds now.
The crypto market shows signs of picking up. Your portfolio does not.
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