Bitstamp Acquired by South Korean NXC, BTC Exchange Will Continue to Operate Independently | Crypto
Bitstamp, Luxembourg-based Bitcoin exchange, has announced its aquisition by NXMH, Belgium-based investment firm whose parent company NXC also owns South Korean crypto exchange Korbit.
ANNOUNCING: Bitstamp was acquired by Belgium-based investment company NXMH. Our team, leadership and vision all remain the same. We believe this is the logical next step on our mission to be the most trusted digital currency exchange on the market
According to the Bitstamp’s statement, the main goal of the deal is “a combination of the quality of the buyer, the quality of the offer and the fact that the industry is at a point where consolidation makes sense”. The company has also assured that its mission, leadership and vision remain the same.
“I want to assure you that Bitstamp remains Bitstamp. We will continue to innovate with the goal of giving our customers the absolute best trading experience. It is business as usual here. We do anticipate that this acquisition will strengthen Bitstamp’s positioning for growth, which will provide opportunities to better serve our customers. Customers should not have any concerns about their accounts or changes to the way we operate.”
Nejc Kodrič, CEO of Bitstamp, confirmed nothing will change for either the company’s customers or its 180 employees:
“We have kind of the same opinion as NXMH—why change something if it works perfectly well?”
The purchase price is rumored to be around $400 million. From now, Bitstamp and Korbit are both owned by the same parent company, which means that technology, research and development resources will be shared, however, the companies are not going to merge. Kodrič will remain the company’s CEO. He holds 10 percent ownership of Bitstamp, over 80 percent of shares in the exchange now belong to NXMH. Pantera Capital, which invested $10 million into Bitstamp in 2014, has also sold part of its stake to NXMH.
NXMH investment manager Hendrik Ghys said:
“Bitstamp is one of the oldest and most-respected cryptocurrency exchanges and we see positive growth potential as the industry continues to evolve … We acquired Bitstamp because we see it as a strategic, long-term investment.”
Previous Competition For Acquiring Bitstamp
Bitstamp was founded in Slovenia in July 2011, but later moved its registration to the UK in April 2013, then to Luxembourg in 2016. The platform allows trading between USD currency and Bitcoin. It also allows USD, EUR, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple or Bitcoin Cash deposits and withdrawals. Bitstamp is one of the few exchanges where the Blockchain Transparency Institute did not uncover evidence of wash trading.
In mid-2017, Bitstamp was announced to be up for sale, with four interested bidders. One of them was South Korean gaming company Nexon, owned by NXC, that was going to buy Bitstamp for $350 million. As we see, the deal has assumed a slightly new aspect.
Speaking of the acquisition, Nejc Kodrič said:
“We were not looking to sell. We were definitely not looking for investment because we didn’t need to raise the capital. We were very much aligned—where we see the industry going and what the company wants to be. They [NXMH] are willing to help us along the way, and help us with our global expansion.”
NXMH and Bitstamp will continue to work to “bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto,” a goal that Bitstamp has been working toward for long.