Galaxy Q2 Earnings Call: Novogratz Sees CLARITY Act Path in September; Firm Deepens Ties With BNY Mellon and Morgan Stanley

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said on the company's Q2 earnings call on Aug. 5 that the compromise on ethical provisions in the CLARITY Act, introduced by Sens. Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego, arrived too late to drive meaningful progress before the congressional recess. He added that the measure could still move forward in September. Novogratz said that even if the bill ultimately fails, it would not be "the end of the world", noting that the chairs of both the SEC and CFTC have pledged to speed up work on more direct cryptocurrency rules. On the institutional front, Galaxy said it signed a multiyear agreement last quarter with BNY Mellon as a design partner to help build BNY's digital-asset infrastructure and provide staking support for its digital-asset custody platform. After being selected last quarter as an Ethereum staking validator for BlackRock's Ethereum staking fund, Galaxy said Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has now tapped the firm to provide staking services for a new digital-asset ETP. The two firms have also rolled out a referral program that lets clients lend digital assets through Galaxy in exchange for an equivalent value of spot crypto ETP shares. In product updates, Galaxy said it launched an OTC prediction market, the onchain financing rate product GOFR, and Galaxy Curator, an institutional treasury management product built on Morpho and integrated with Fireblocks, during Q2. The company also said Steve Van Roza has joined its board.