Galaxy Digital founder Michael Novogratz and BitGo CEO Mike Belshe clashed in court over a failed merger and acquisition deal from four years ago. According to a Bloomberg report, BitGo is demanding at least $100 million in damages, claiming that Galaxy unilaterally withdrew from the $1.2 billion acquisition deal it pursued in 2021. At the time, the deal was the largest M&A in the cryptocurrency industry. BitGo claimed that Galaxy did not make sufficient efforts to complete the transaction and concealed information related to investigations by U.S. regulatory authorities. Novogratz, on the other hand, countered in his court testimony that Galaxy was not under investigation and that the related matters were irrelevant to the regulatory approval process. He also emphasized that BitGo lost its right to receive a termination fee because it failed to submit essential financial data by the deadline. He explained, "We tried to make the deal happen. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), then led by Chairman Gary Gensler, made the deal very difficult, and eventually, both parties determined that regulatory approval was unlikely. We even proposed merging in Canada to await SEC approval."
