Various reports indicate that investors are interested in acquiring cryptocurrency news publication Coindesk. on January 18, China-based news publisher Marsbit founder Wang Feng announced his intention to purchase Coindesk along with other members of the crypto industry. This news follows a report from Semafor at the end of November 2022 that Coindesk had received a takeover offer from several investors.
Coindesk’s alleged asking price: over $200 million as Charles Hoskinson and Marsbit expressed interest in acquiring
After Genesis Global Capital, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), filed for bankruptcy protection, investors are reportedly considering buying cryptocurrency news publication Coindesk Coindesk is a 100% DCG owned and independently operated news and conference business.
According to Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Cardano, sources familiar with the matter point out that the news outlet’s asking price for Coindesk is around $200 million. Hoskinson has expressed interest in acquiring Coindesk, stating in” In a Youtube video titled “Buying Coindesk,”he states.
Hoskinson’s $200 million estimate is less than the estimate he gave Semafor at the end of November 2022 when sources told the news publicationthat investors were interested in buyingCoindesk. At the time, Semafor’s Bradley Saacks and Liz Hoffman reported that there was a “proposed purchase price of $300 million.” The report added that people familiar with the matter said the $300 million estimate “seems too low.”
Semafor’s Bradley Saacks said that Coindesk generates most of its revenue from events such as Consensus conferences and from advertising; Saacks noted that “both revenue pools are shrinking rapidly.” In addition to Charles Hoskinson, Wang Feng, founder of China-based news publisher Marsbit,has alsoannounced his intention to acquire the publication. Marsbit is backed by Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. news publication.
Wang announced on January 18, 2023 that Marsbit is willing to “organize a number of well-known funds to jointly acquire and integrate Coindesk” (tweet from the founder). He also stated that Consensus’ conference business would be included in the acquisition; Coindesk was originally founded in 2013 by entrepreneurShakil Khanwho also co-founded Prima Materia and was an early investor in Bitpay.
According to areportby Techcrunch reporter Lucas Matney, Coindesk was acquired by DCG in January 2016 for an estimated $500,000 to $600,000 Coindesk hasarticleabout the acquisition announcement and said it was “excited” to join DCG, noting that DCG was one of the Coin