Michael Novogratz

Michael Novogratz is one of the most famous investors in crypto assets, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital. He was one of the first representatives of Wall Street to publicly recognize digital currencies as a promising and valuable asset class. In 2008, Forbes recognized Novogratz as a dollar billionaire.

Michael Novogratz was born on November 26, 1964 in Allegheny, Virginia (USA). He was the third child in a large family (7 children in total). His father, Bob Novogratz, was a member of the Army Black Knights and was awarded the Knute Rockne Prize in 1958.

Michael Novogratz studied at Fort Hunt High School, where he was involved in wrestling. In 1986 and 1987, he was qualified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to participate in the national wrestling championships. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

Novogratz pursued a career as a Wall Street financier. After completing his service in the New Jersey National Guard, he joined Goldman Sachs in 1989. In 1992−1999, he lived in Asia in connection with his work. Initially (in 1992), he was hired as a salesman at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo, but then he was transferred to Hong Kong to organize the work of the bank’s representative office. Michael became a partner at Goldman in 1998. Later, he managed Goldman Sachs' offices in Latin America.

In 2002, he joined Fortress Investments, a large investment company, where he was involved in organizing its IPO. Due to the 2007−2008 recession, the company suffered significant losses. Prior to joining Fortress Credit Corporation, Novogratz worked as the CIO of Macro Funds at Fortress Investment Group LLC.

In 2015, Novogratz joined a relatively small cryptocurrency investment firm called Galaxy Investment Partners. In 2017, the financier noted that he held about 20% of his personal capital in bitcoin and ether.

Galaxy Digital

In 2018, Novogratz founded his own company called Galaxy Digital. The initial investment fund amounted to $ 500 million, of which Novogratz contributed $ 150 million. The founder himself has repeatedly called the company «Goldman Sachs for cryptocurrencies.» Shortly after the launch, Galaxy Digital made an IPO on the Canadian TSX Venture Exchange.

On its official website, Galaxy Digital calls itself «an intermediary between the crypto industry and institutional investors» and offers a wide range of financial services for whales, including bitcoin mining.

In addition, the company itself is one of the main institutional investors operating in the cryptocurrency market. In September 2021, its portfolio included more than 150 projects in the field of digital assets.

During 2021, the company entered into strategic partnerships with Morgan Stanley and Invesco, and at the end of 2021, it raised $ 500 million in funding through a bond placement.

In May 2022, Galaxy Digital’s total assets under management amounted to about $ 2 billion, half of which were crypto assets and the rest were shares in crypto-related companies.

Investments of Novogratz and his company

In an interview, the venture capitalist admitted that in 2012 he first bought bitcoins for $ 95, and in 2013 he participated in the Ethereum token sale, purchasing coins for $ 0.99.

One of Galaxy Digital’s first major investments was in BlockFi, an American cryptocurrency lending platform, in 2018. A few months later, it took part in the investment round of the mining company Bitfury Group.

In September 2020, Galaxy Digital became a shareholder in ParaFi Capital, a fund that invests in decentralized finance projects. Thanks to this partnership, the company has invested about 5% of its capital in DeFi.

In May 2021, the company announced the acquisition of BitGo, a leading US cryptocurrency custodian, for more than $ 1.2 billion. However, in May of this year, the media reported that the deal had not yet been finalized.

The company’s joint project with Bloomberg, the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI), which is used by the platform’s corporate clients, is also worth mentioning. It tracks the dynamics of the market capitalization of bitcoin and the largest altcoins.

In addition, Galaxy Digital has a separate division for investing in the gaming industry called Galaxy Interactive with a budget of several hundred million dollars.

Investment in Terra

Galaxy Digital has invested a large sum in Terra blockchain developer Terrafom Labs, participating in at least two investment rounds in 2021.

Mike Novogratz himself even got a tattoo in early 2022 dedicated to the project and classified himself as a «sleepwalker» (as members of the Terra community called themselves).

However, a few months later, the price of the project’s native coin fell along with the UST algorithmic stablecoin. In a letter to Galaxy Digital employees, Novogratz admitted that investing in Terraform Labs was a mistake. The tattoo, according to the financier, «will be a constant reminder that venture capital investment requires humility.»

In 2020, together with businessman Gary Vaynerchuk and the head of online retailer Fanatics, Novogratz announced a sports NFT marketplace called Candy Digital.

The first digital item to go on sale on the platform was an NFT featuring a farewell speech by American baseball player Lou Gehrig. In October 2021, the startup was valued at $ 1.5 billion.

Novogratz considers the market for irreplaceable tokens to be «the road to the future.» The head of Digital Galaxy is sure that it will soon be used by everyone — it is «only a matter of time.»

Other information

Together with his wife Dora, Michael Novogratz has 4 children. In 2006, the businessman bought an elite mansion from Robert De Niro for $ 12.5 million.

New York Governor David Peterson appointed Mr. Novogratz to the Board of Directors of Hudson Park. He also serves as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Financial Markets Advisory Committee. In addition, he is a member of the boards of Acumen Fund, NYU Langone Medical Center, Princeton Varsity Club, Boards of Creative Alternatives, PAX, School for Strings, and The Jazz Foundation of America.

The founder of Galaxy Digital praises bitcoin, calling it the only reliable crypto asset, especially for beginners and residents of countries with weak national currencies. In general, according to the investor, BTC should occupy at least 2−3% of the portfolio of anyone interested in saving their money.

At the same time, according to the investor’s opinion, which he expressed in the fall of 2021, 75% of modern altcoins will not survive in the next ten years.

Michael Novogratz’s cryptocurrency capital is estimated at $ 700 million to $ 1 billion.

It is important to note that at the beginning of the full-scale war, Michael Novogratz supported Ukraine by posting a joint photo with Wladimir Klitschko on Twitter on February 25. «I support Ukraine. This man is a patriot. I feel sorry for the Russian who will face Klitschko,» Michael wrote under the photo.