CRYPT — BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said the cryptocurrency custodian has more acquisitions in the works and expects further market consolidation in the second half of the year. This news came just days after BitGo decided to drop its intention to buy Prime Trust. “We have (more acquisitions) pending,” Belshe said on Monday’s episode of First Mover on the CoinDesk TV program. “I haven’t been able to announce them yet, but I think there will be consolidation in the space over the next six months.”
On June 22, amid rumors that the target company was in the process of filing for bankruptcy, BitGo decided to cancel the acquisition of Prime Trust. Subsequently, Nevada’s Financial Institutions Division (FID) reported that Prime Trust experienced “a lack of client funds” and was unable to meet all withdrawal requests this month. Palo Alto, Calif.-based BitGo was nearly acquired by cryptocurrency Mike Novogratz. merchant bank Galaxy Digital (GLXY), but the $1.2 billion deal fell through in August. BitGo’s headquarters are located in Palo Alto, California. Belshe said that after Galaxy withdrew its bid, other proposals came “from time to time”, but BitGo is currently more focused on expanding its business than acquiring it by a major player.
One of the likely contenders in the custodian sector.
“Coinbase is a public company and it has a very healthy balance sheet, so they’re getting some of these first comers,” Belshe explained. However, at some point in the future, Coinbase may be forced to split its custodial service and trading operation. “They are not guardians; they are more like exchanges,” the official said. In his words, “Coinbase is going to have to decide which side of the fence they want to be on.” Belshe went on to say that BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has his phone number and that BitGo “talks to almost every big deal out there.”
