Bitcoin firm buys industry publication CoinDesk

Digital Currency Group, a holding firm focused on investing and developing businesses that deal in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has acquired the industry publication CoinDesk, the company said in a statement. The editorial and business teams at CoinDesk will merge with DCG’s new events platform, doubling its size and forming a new New York-based subsidiary focused on providing news coverage, research, and events. DCG’s founder and chief executive officer, Barry Silbert, declined to disclose the acquisition price for CoinDesk. DCG was one of the initial investors in CoinDesk when it started in 2013. CoinDesk is the first acquisition for DCG, Ryan Selkis, director of growth at DCG, said in a phone interview. Selkis will run the merged media company and the group’s events unit. It joins DCG’s other companies, which includes a global investment portfolio of bitcoin and blockchain ventures, Genesis Global Trading, an institutional-focused digital currency trading desk, and Grayscale Investments, an asset manager that manages the Bitcoin Investment Trust. CoinDesk’s headquarters were moved to New York from London, Selkis said. The media outfit currently has 10 employees, plus contributors spread across two offices in London and New York. CoinDesk has been sponsoring and managing the Consensus conferences on digital currencies and the blockchain, bitcoin’s underlying technology. “It has been impressive to watch CoinDesk’s evolution over the past 2-1/2 years and we are committed to investing in new products and people that will further enhance the CoinDesk and Consensus brands,” Silbert said. In a separate statement, CoinDesk announced its second annual blockchain technology conference in May to be held in New York. Selkis said current Coindesk’s CEO Jeremy Bonney will be “transitioning out gradually.” Bonney will be kept on board while CoinDesk is merging with DCG and will remain as a strategic adviser. Selkis said he was a former journalist and had contributed articles to CoinDesk up until he joined DCG in October 2014. He also has a background in venture capital. CoinDesk has created the Bitcoin Price Index and puts out the quarterly “State of Bitcoin” report. Reuters