Institutional crypto giant Galaxy reports strong first quarter numbers. CEO Novogratz explains why the U.S. election is currently holding back the price of Bitcoin.

Galaxy Digital has presented strong figures for the first quarter. Net profit rose 40 percent to $422 million, mainly due to new record results in mining and asset management of several companies. In addition, assets rose an impressive 50 percent from the previous quarter to 7.8 billion. As one of the leading institutional players in the crypto sector, Galaxy launched one of the Bitcoin Spot ETFs in the U.S. with Invesco in January. Just last month, the crypto-asset manager expanded its offerings to include Bitcoin and Ether ETCs in Europe as part of a partnership with DWS.

The U.S. presidential election

During the most recent earnings call, CEO Mike Novogratz also made an exciting prediction: Bitcoin is in a consolidation phase that could last until the U.S. presidential election in November, he said. For the BTC price, this means a range of movement between $55,000 and $75,000. "That's the state of affairs [...] until the Fed starts cutting interest rates because the economy is cooling, or until we get past the election," he explained. In general, crypto will remain politicized until the prevailing anti-attitude changes, the Galaxy CEO noted.

Opinions are divided on crypto

According to Novogratz, the 2024 U.S. elections could finally bring clarity to the crypto regulatory landscape, after the sector recently became the subject of a political dispute between Democrats and Republicans. This would make life a lot easier for Galaxy and other crypto companies. "For our industry to flourish, we need bipartisan support," the Galaxy CEO explained. Recently, U.S. President Biden spoke out against a resolution that would allow banks to allow crypto storage. Republican challenger Trump, on the other hand, indicated he was pro-crypto.

For the crypto community, it looks like the Democrats "no" say to crypto. Novogratz says of this, "This is unfair; there are many Democrats who are pro-crypto but the power now lies with Elizabeth Warren on the Senate Banking Committee, Gensler and a few others."

Bitcoin and crypto becoming the plaything of partisan interests? A dangerous trend for Novogratz. But the Galaxy CEO is optimistic that a future vote in the Senate would make the "first litmus test" may be to see if some Democrats are more benevolent. Especially in an election year, productive cooperation between the two parties is difficult, but all the more important for the crypto sector. One thing is certain: To stop the exodus of successful U.S. companies, regulatory clarity is needed. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's campaign is doing lasting damage to the U.S. as a crypto location.