[2018-10-29] Bitcoin Exchange Bitstamp Confirms Sale to Gaming Group NXC

[cybersofts]

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has been acquired by NXMH, an investment firm based in Belgium and owned by South Korean conglomerate NXC.

In a deal signed last Thursday, the firm took a majority ownership stake in the exchange. Bitstamp CEO Nejc Kodrič will retain a minority ownership stake and continue running the startup's operations. The terms of the deal, including the sale price, were not disclosed.

Bitstamp backer Pantera Capital will also retain a 6 percent ownership stake in the exchange, according to statements, and Bitstamp will continue to operate independently.

NXMH's parent company, NXC, also owns the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit. NXC owns Nexon, a maker of popular games for both desktop and mobile platforms. Public filings released earlier this year had linked NXC and Bitstamp.

Bitstamp's customers will not see any immediate change in services, Kodrič told CoinDesk. The exchange has an existing roadmap for improvement, which it intends to stick to for the time being. During negotiations with NXMH, the investment firm essentially agreed with Bitstamp's goals, he said.

"We realized very early on that our outlook for the crypto industry is very much aligned with them," he explained. "They've given us a lot of confidence that our execution will proceed … They understand the industry."

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 several years already, Kodrič said.

He added:

    "Unlike some of our competitors who take more of a lax approach, we want to [set standards] … We've already taken the regulatory framework seriously starting back in 2014, we started doing [know-your-customer] before it was an industry standard. All of it comes down to us viewing crypto as being a spark of everyday life."

In a statement, 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."


Source: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-exchange-bitstamp-confirms-sale-to-gaming-group-nxc/

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[vit05]

Bitstamp always seemed to me a solid exchange and with great organization. Their site is one of the best and most fluid. I hope they continue to operate independently. I also hope that this purchase has not occurred due to cash flow problems since it is a giant in the market and many use the price of it as a reference.

Curious about the possible value of 100 million speculated. It is spoken in dollars, but I imagined that such an operation would be negotiated in Bitcoins.

Dear Bitstamp customers,

Today I am pleased to announce that Bitstamp has been acquired by NXMH, a Belgium-based investment company.

Bitstamp has been regularly approached by suitors for quite some time. The reason why we finally decided to sell the company 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. A major factor in agreeing to the sale is that the mission, leadership and vision of the company remains 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.

Bitstamp has come a long way since we started in a garage with two laptops and EUR 1000 seven years ago. We believe this acquisition is the logical next step in Bitstamp’s growth as a company and I look forward to the future with this team.

Best,
Nejc Kodrič
CEO, Bitstamp

[J_Crypto]

Officially, the amount of the transaction is not disclosed, but it is obvious that the amount is extremely large. And since the previous owners of the exchange went to such a step, then they know exactly what to do with the amount received , in order to multiply them.
And , in fact, well done.
Movement is life.
Especially when it's a movement of money.

[shamc]

It is a good investment as bigstamp has a good reputation and long serving history. Recently, they have failed to live up to expectations and been overtaken on CMC, this is a positive move for everyone

[roosbit]

Seems like investors are slowly crawling in to buy off whatever our small start-ups started off.... with the little faith they had in them , anyway better than never thumbs up to NXC!  Crypto is definitely headed to the moon 

[1Referee]

Bitstamp always seemed to me a solid exchange and with great organization. Their site is one of the best and most fluid. I hope they continue to operate independently. I also hope that this purchase has not occurred due to cash flow problems since it is a giant in the market and many use the price of it as a reference.

Can't agree more. I have been using Bitstamp since 2013 and they never did anything to piss me off, or to make me lose confidence in their functioning as exchange. It has also been one of the very few exchanges people use as benchmark exchange in terms of pricing. I'm not into spot trading anymore, but I still use Bitstamp as my fiat entry point.

Curious about the possible value of 100 million speculated. It is spoken in dollars, but I imagined that such an operation would be negotiated in Bitcoins.

Value speculations are all over the place.

This article talks about a $400 million buyout, which if we think back a while, was also the amount that popped up months ago. Regardless of what the amount actually is, this is by far a better deal than what Circle has got itself into with buying a shithole exchange for $400 million. If they wait long enough, Poloniex might not even be worth 10% of what they paid for it anymore.

[stompix]

Same here, if there would be an exchange to choose to trust it with some funds probably Bitstamp would be one, even with the 2015 hack still quie fresh in my memory, I remember calling them bitswamp at that time  . But, about the purchase, I'm not that excited. The exchange worked perfectly but with new ownership, some changes are sure to be made, and changes when everything works are not something I'm looking forward, rather than that I think I will start looking for a back-up plan.

Btw, it seems like they've acquired Korbit for another 300 million back in 2017, but the stats for that exchange are disappointing

[squatter]

Bitstamp always seemed to me a solid exchange and with great organization. Their site is one of the best and most fluid. I hope they continue to operate independently. I also hope that this purchase has not occurred due to cash flow problems since it is a giant in the market and many use the price of it as a reference.

I think Nejc Kodrič and other early investors are just making a smart exit. This is what angel investment is all about. Kodrič still owns a piece and will continue running operations, which sounds promising.

I have been using Bitstamp since 2013 and they never did anything to piss me off, or to make me lose confidence in their functioning as exchange. It has also been one of the very few exchanges people use as benchmark exchange in terms of pricing. I'm not into spot trading anymore, but I still use Bitstamp as my fiat entry point.

I was always a bit put off by the unexplained account closures and reportedly overly invasive KYC. I would never put significant volume through Bitstamp for those reasons.

[abracadabra]

Don't use Bitstamp.  They are currently not performing USD fiat withdrawals. My guess is some kind of money crunch or theft that they refuse to publicize. There are people that have been waiting over 2 months for their funds to be moved out of Bitstamp. There are people looking to spearhead a class action lawsuit against them.