Galaxy Digital Announces Launch of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Index Fund
The Fund seeks to track the newly launched Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2021 /CNW/ - Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (TSX: GLXY) ("Galaxy Digital" or the "Company"), the pre-eminent global provider of blockchain and cryptocurrency financial services for institutions, today announced the launch of the Galaxy DeFi Index Fund, a passively managed fund that seeks to track the performance of the newly-launched Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index (ticker: DEFI).
As one of the fastest growing sectors in crypto, DeFi brings financial services on-chain, enabling participants to borrow, lend, and exchange assets on blockchains governed by smart contracts instead of through centralized intermediaries. DeFi is distinct because it expands the use of blockchain from simple value transfer to more complex financial use cases. At the time of writing, users have deposited over $80.7 billion worth of crypto into DeFi smart contracts up from $4.7 billion one year ago today.
The Galaxy DeFi Index Fund seeks to provide institutional investors access to returns based on the performance of DeFi through a simple, secure vehicle with exposure to the largest, most liquid portion of the decentralized finance crypto market, one of the fastest-growing segments of the crypto ecosystem. The fund is seeded by NZ Funds, a wealth management firm that manages over $2bn of New Zealanders' savings.
"Galaxy continues to pioneer inroads for institutions seeking exposure to the innovation happening within the crypto ecosystem," said Steve Kurz, Partner and Head of Asset Management at Galaxy Digital. "The blockchain-based infrastructure behind DeFi is maturing at an accelerating rate and clear examples of how this new technology can disrupt financial services are emerging in real-time. Our unique DeFi Index Fund provides investors with institutional-grade exposure to the future of financial services."
The Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index is designed to measure the performance of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols by market capitalization. The benchmark is owned and administered by Bloomberg Index Services Limited and is co-branded with Galaxy Fund Management.
The constituents represented in DEFI are selected based on institutional trading and custody readiness in the United States, as well as quality of pricing. Each constituent will represent a hold of no more than 40% of the Index and no less than 1% of the benchmark's overall value. DeFi protocols will be considered for addition to, or removal from, the Index on a monthly basis.
As of August 1, 2021, the Index consisted of the following assets and weightings:
UNI Uniswap 40.0%
AAVE AAVE 18.0%
MKR Maker 12.7%
COMP Compound 10.0%
YFI Yearn.Finance 5.4%
SNX Synthetix 5.0%
SUSHI SushiSwap 4.3%
ZXR 0x 2.8%
UMA UMA1.8%
About Galaxy Digital
Galaxy Digital (TSX: GLXY) is a diversified financial services and investment management company dedicated to the digital asset and blockchain technology sectors. Galaxy Digital's team has extensive experience spanning investing, portfolio management, capital markets, venture capital, asset management, and blockchain technology. Galaxy Digital operates in five synergistic business lines: Trading, Asset Management, Principal Investments, Investment Banking, and Mining. Galaxy Fund Management is the digital asset funds brand of the Asset Management business. Galaxy Digital's CEO and Founder is Mike Novogratz. The Company is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Chicago, San Francisco, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands (registered office), and New Jersey.
Disclaimers
The TSX has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal, nor shall there be any sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.
The private placement shares of the Galaxy DeFi Index Fund (the "Fund") has not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or any state securities laws, and the shares are being offered pursuant to an exemption from registration provided by Rule 506(c) of Regulation D under the Securities Act and in reliance on similar exemptions under applicable state laws. An investment in the shares of the Fund is suitable only for sophisticated, well-informed investors, and investors will be required to represent that they are accredited investors as such term is defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act.
If any offer and sale of securities is made, it will be pursuant to the confidential offering memorandum of the fund (the "Offering Memorandum"). Any decision to make an investment in the Fund should be made after reviewing such Offering Memorandum, conducting such investigations as the investor deems necessary and consulting the investor's own investment, legal, accounting and tax advisors in order to make an independent determination of the suitability and consequences of an investment.
Investing in the Fund and digital assets involves a substantial degree of risk. There can be no assurance that the investment objectives of the Fund will be achieved. Any investment in the Fund may result in a loss of the entire amount invested. Investment losses may occur, and investors could lose some or all of their investment. Neither historical returns nor economic, market or other performance is an indication of future results.
Decentralized Finance (or DeFi) refers to a variety of blockchain-based applications or protocols that provide for peer-to-peer financial services using smart contracts and other technology rather than such services being offered by central intermediaries. Common DeFi applications include borrowing/lending Digital Assets and providing liquidity or market making in Digital Assets. Because DeFi applications rely on smart contracts, any errors, bugs, or vulnerabilities in smart contracts used in connection with DeFi activities may adversely affect such activities. DeFi lending is subject to counterparty risk and credit risk, but because lending is automated through the DeFi protocol, rather than individual decisions made by a portfolio manager on behalf of a Fund, such risks may be exacerbated, particularly if there are flaws in DeFi protocol's code or operation. DeFi applications may involve regulated financial products or regulated activities, however because of their decentralized nature, there is generally no entity subject to regulatory supervision. Accordingly, DeFi applications may be subject to more risks than engaging in similar activities through regulated financial intermediaries. In addition, in certain decentralized protocols, it may be difficult or impossible to verify the identity of a transaction counterparty necessary to comply with any applicable anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, or sanctions regulations or controls. All of these risks could cause the value of DeFi tokens held by a fund to decline, including to zero.
Securities transactions are effected through Galaxy Digital Partners LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC
BLOOMBERG is a trademark or service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. GALAXY is a trademark of Galaxy Digital Capital Management LP (GDCM). Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (collectively, Bloomberg) are not affiliated with GDCM, the Galaxy Funds and their respective affiliates (collectively, Galaxy). Bloomberg's association with Galaxy is to act as the administrator and calculation agent of the Indices (collectively, the "Index"), which is the property of Bloomberg. Neither Bloomberg nor Galaxy guarantee the timeliness, accurateness, or completeness of any data or information relating to the Index or results to be obtained. Neither Bloomberg nor Galaxy make any warranty, express or implied, as to the Index, any data or values relating thereto or any financial product or instrument linked to, using as a component thereof or based on the Index (Products) or results to be obtained therefrom, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect thereto. To the maximum extent allowed by law, Bloomberg, its licensees, Galaxy, and their respective employees, contractors, agents, suppliers, and vendors shall have no liability or responsibility whatsoever for any injury or damages—whether direct, indirect, consequential, incidental, punitive, or otherwise—arising in connection with the Index, any data or values relating thereto or any Products—whether arising from their negligence or otherwise.
SOURCE Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd.