Bullish Exchange, Led by Ex-NYSE Chief Farley, Acquires CoinDesk

CoinDesk, one of the crypto industry’s most important media outlets, has been acquired by Bullish Exchange. The trading platform is owned by the one-time Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the New York Stock Exchange Group (NYSE), Tom Farley. The deal, reported by the Wall Street Journal today, involved handing over 100% ownership of CoinDesk to Bullish Exchange for an undisclosed sum. CoinDesk was originally purchased back in 2016 by Digital Currency Group for US$ 500k (AU$ 762k), so it’s likely the company’s current value was orders of magnitude higher. 

For now, it appears the sale won’t make any huge changes to the current CoinDesk system. Bullish Exchange intends to allow the media outlet to continue operating independently while maintaining its pre-existing leadership structure. Perhaps the biggest shake-up will be the implementation of an editorial committee, set to be headed by Matt Murry (ex-Wall Street Journal). 

Bullish Exchange With Fingers In Many Pies

CoinDesk marks just one of the many investments that Bullish Exchange is targeting. The crypto exchange is keen to become more than just a trading platform and to make a splash as an all-encompassing Web3 business – in the vein of Binance.

Perhaps the biggest coup would be the revival of the defunct exchange FTX. The platform – infamous for its 2022 demise and the notoriety of ex-CEO and indicted criminal Sam Bankman-Fried – has seen several suitors recently, including Tom Farley (and the Bullish Exchange).

The move has been given the blessing of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who said

If Tom or anybody else wanted to be in this field, I would say, ‘Do it within the law.

Gary Gensler, SEC Chair

Resuscitating FTX, while also owning Bullish and CoinDesk would give Farley’s company a major stake in some of the industry’s biggest companies.