The world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, has temporarily put “on hold” its plans to acquire the massive cryptocurrency media outlet CoinDesk, which is a part of the Digital Currency Group (DCG).
According to a report (1) that cites unnamed sources, the transaction was supposed to be carried out by Binance Capital Markets (BCM) through the company’s subsidiary, CoinMarketCap.
The fact that CoinDesk was being sold was made public for the first time back in January, around the same time that DCG’s financial difficulties became well known.
DCG bought CoinDesk after the failure of its brokerage firm, Genesis Trading, to avoid bankruptcy.
The corporation concluded that it needed to unload some of its assets to increase the amount of money it could use to satisfy its debts.
CoinDesk was one of DCG’s profitable arms that the company believed it could let go of at the time.
It is not quite clear why the business transaction with Binance has been put on hold for the time being; nonetheless, several options might be considered.
To begin, the ownership model of CoinMarketCap is very certainly going to be subjected to some form of scrutiny.
Even though the most popular cryptocurrency analytics website in the world has repeatedly stated that it is completely independent of Binance, many people are worried that the deal won’t be investigated well enough.
According to the sources, initial discussions between CoinDesk and Binance recorded no big headway. This is because the trading business anticipated that many writers from the news site might depart if the transaction were to go through.
Although Binance is renowned for its notable optimism regarding the viability of CoinDesk as a positive factor within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the tactics to finally land the cryptocurrency as the exchange’s asset are currently unknown.
Kevin Worth, the CEO of CoinDesk, stated that the media company had received several offers. Still, there have been no decisions made about any of them yet.
No decision has been taken regarding the sale of CoinDesk or any of the other possibilities we are investigating to bring in expansion funds for the company. “He explained that this is a continuing process, with no defined date.
Binance’s Interest in Media Platforms
As a cryptocurrency trading platform, the Binance exchange has always aimed to acquire a sizeable holding in a crypto media platform in the back of its mind.
The corporation announced in 2020 that it would be investing $200 million into Forbes, which is widely regarded as among the most renowned media sites in the world.
The transaction with Forbes did not go through since the company’s merging with Magnum Opus Acquisition Ltd, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), was canceled in June 2022.
In addition to their investment projects in Forbes, Binance has invested money in Twitter.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the CEO of the exchange, participated in a minority stakeholding capacity and contributed $500 million in favor of Elon Musk’s purchase bid. The acquisition of CoinDesk, as suggested by it, would provide it with a means of consolidating its position as the dominant player in the industry.
Binance is still in a stiff battle with other potential investors in CoinDesk, such as the founder of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, because there is no specified deadline for the completion of the acquisition.