Bullish exchange officially acquires CoinDesk in an all-cash deal following significant layoffs.

According to The Block's report, the cryptocurrency media company CoinDesk, after significant layoffs, has been officially acquired in an all-cash deal by the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish led by former NYSE President Tom Farley.

Bullish Acquires CoinDesk

It was reported in mid-August that CoinDesk, the cryptocurrency media outlet, is set to lay off 20 employees, accounting for 45% of its editorial team, as its parent company DCG plans to bring in strategic investors. This move will result in a 16% reduction in the overall workforce.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, DCG Group acquired CoinDesk back in 2016 for $500,000. CoinDesk's business includes media, events, and indices and generated $50 million in revenue last year. The most likely acquirer previously rumored was a consortium led by cryptocurrency investor Matthew Roszak of Tally Capital, with a reported acquisition price of $125 million, which now seems to have fallen through.

Current CoinDesk CEO Kevin Worth will continue to lead the team, operating CoinDesk as a subsidiary of Bullish. An editorial committee will also be established, chaired by former Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray, to ensure editorial independence.

Bullish CEO Tom Farley stated:

Bullish will immediately inject funds into several of CoinDesk's most exciting growth initiatives, which will drive the launch of new services, events, and products. We also want to express our firm support for CoinDesk's news independence.

Bullish's Parent Company is Block.one, Developer of EOS

Block.one, the company behind the EOS blockchain, announced in May 2021 that it had raised $10 billion in funding from various investors to establish a new subsidiary, Bullish Global. Investors included Thiel Capital, Founders Fund, Galaxy Digital, international investment bank Nomura, and other individual investors. They launched a blockchain-based decentralized exchange called Bullish, with former New York Stock Exchange chairman Tom Farley as CEO.

Bullish is a regulated cryptocurrency exchange where users can buy, sell, and trade digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It currently operates using a private version of the EOS blockchain and records transactions on the EOS blockchain. Bullish had previously planned to go public through a SPAC merger as Farley Acquisition Corp but that deal fell through. Now, it is also one of the bidders for the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange.