Galaxy Digital, a publicly traded crypto firm helmed by Michael Novogratz, has made a significant move to enhance its Ethereum staking capabilities by acquiring nearly all the assets of blockchain node operator CryptoManufaktur LLC. This acquisition is part of Galaxy’s broader strategy to deepen its involvement in blockchain infrastructure.

The deal, announced in an exclusive press release to CoinDesk, will see Galaxy taking over CryptoManufaktur’s operations and engineering teams. Although the financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, a Galaxy spokesperson revealed that the acquisition will boost the firm’s serviced assets under stake by approximately 43%.

Thorsten Behrens, the founder of CryptoManufaktur, along with a three-person engineering team, will join Galaxy’s blockchain infrastructure team. This team is dedicated to providing staking and blockchain validator services to qualified investors, protocols, and digital-asset platforms.

Founded in 2020, CryptoManufaktur initially focused on building infrastructure for the blockchain oracle project Chainlink. It later expanded to include automated proof-of-stake node deployment infrastructure on Ethereum. The deal brings about $1 billion of Ethereum assets under stake to Galaxy, increasing its total to $3.3 billion.

Galaxy Digital has been steadily expanding into blockchain infrastructure, complementing its primary business lines of crypto trading and investment management. Michael Novogratz, a prominent figure in the crypto world and a frequent guest on business TV networks like CNBC, has a rich background in finance, having held executive positions at Goldman Sachs and the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group.

Zane Glauber, head of Galaxy’s blockchain infrastructure team, highlighted the significance of the acquisition in the press release: “Galaxy is rapidly expanding its blockchain infrastructure and staking capabilities to provide enterprise-grade technical expertise and support to strategic areas of the digital-asset ecosystem. Our acquisition of CMF is an important milestone that significantly enhances our position as a leading technical partner to protocols and builders.”

Source: Coindesk