Galaxy Digital Debuts On Nasdaq At $23.50 Per Share After 1,320-Day Wait, CEO Calls SEC Scrutiny ‘Infuriating’

CEO Mike Novogratz said the prolonged SEC scrutiny significantly increased Galaxy’s audit costs, noting they were well above those paid by traditional firms like Jefferies.

Shares of cryptocurrency fintech firm Galaxy Digital (GLXY) debuted on the Nasdaq on Friday, ending a years-long process that its founder and CEO, Michael Novogratz, called “unfair and infuriating.”

In an interview with CNBC, Novogratz argued that the process, which typically takes 45 to 90 days, was stretched out to 1,320 days and took nine rounds of comments with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

“It felt un-American, unfair, infuriating,” Novogratz said.

GLXY opened at $23.50 apiece on the Nasdaq on Friday.

Novogratz said the prolonged SEC scrutiny significantly increased Galaxy’s audit costs, noting they were well above those paid by traditional firms like Jefferies. He expects those fees to decline by up to 40% now that the firm is listed in the U.S.

“Scarcity makes you tougher,” Novogratz said. “We funded our company mostly through investment gains and trading.”

He added that Galaxy Digital wasn’t the only crypto-linked company to suffer, pointing to eToro, the Israel-headquartered trading platform, which completed its Nasdaq listing earlier this week. Its listing was one of the first major fintech IPOs since 2021.

“Ringing the bell is kind of the starting line, not the finish line,” Novogratz said, adding that U.S. markets offer far greater reach. “Our visibility, volume, and notoriety in the Canadian market versus the U.S. is one to 30 — the U.S. market is 30 times deeper. If we had been in the U.S. markets those four years, we’d be a different company.”

Galaxy Digital shifted to the Nasdaq on Friday morning, transitioning from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and over-the-counter markets (OTC). The stock was up 2% in morning trade.

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