Bitcoin Forum

Novogratz has already proposed a Transaction to establish Galaxy Digital as a full service, digital assets merchant bank, which will concentrate in the following areas: distinct trading, asset management, principal investment, and advisory work.

https://bitcoinist.com/novogratz-first-cryptocurrency-merchant-bank/

What's the point of creating a centralized institution like a bank in the world of decentralized currencies that were made to cut the ties between governments, banks and people's private money? They want to focus on trading and strategic investments, I get it, so it's rather a combination of an exchange and a brokerage than a bank, or am I missing something here? If they were to offer loans it could be an interesting addition.

It seems like they are offering investment management/advisement and brokerage services. The point is that cryptocurrencies are foreign to mainstream investors. People want to invest in them, but are scared to touch them. They don't understand the technology, how custody works and how to properly secure their assets.

That's why Coinbase is pushing an institutional custody product as well. Lots of money is waiting on the sidelines for more reliable, regulated and compliant services where institutional investors feel safer. These guys are just in it for the money, not for the freedom that Bitcoin was designed to provide.