Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) appears to have turned things around on its balance sheet, with fourth quarter financials coming in significantly higher than the same period last year.
In a letter to shareholders on Monday, first reported by its former subsidiary CoinDesk, DCG reported Q4 revenue of $210 million, which was up 59% from the same period last year.
The firm attributed the uptick in revenue to “higher asset prices,” which drove $156 million of quarterly revenues at its subsidiary Grayscale Investments and $38 million at crypto mining firm Foundry.
“Q4 2023 average BTC price was up ~101% compared to ~$18K in Q4 2022,” noted DCG in the shareholder letter. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at over $50,000, surpassing the level for the first time since December 2021 after weeks of consecutive inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
DCG also reported EBITDA of about $275 million for the fiscal year 2023, which was up from $261 million in 2022. The firm’s quarterly EBITDA rose 40% to close to $100 million, marking a significant change from the loss of $7 million in Q4 2022.
The letter also notes DCG’s November sale of CoinDesk to crypto exchange Bullish, but does not disclose the commercial terms of the deal. The firm’s existing investment portfolio, which includes shares in Grayscale’s newly converted ETF GBTC, tokens and equities, was valued at around $975 million.
DCG is in the midst of negotiations with creditors of its bankrupt subsidiary Genesis who objected to Genesis’ proposed bankruptcy plan last week, claiming that it favours a small group of creditors over others.
Last week Genesis sought the court’s approval to sell $1.6 billion worth of trust assets, of which $1.4 billion are shares in GBTC. In a Feb. 9 filing, DCG contended that Genesis’ reasons for selling its trust assets “have no merit” and requested that the court adjourn the proposed sale until a reorganization plan is confirmed.
The New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James also expanded its lawsuit against DCG last Friday, increasing the size of the alleged fraud from $1.1 billion to $3 billion.
DCG noted in its shareholders letter that the updated complaint follows Genesis filing a proposed settlement with the NYAG that would effectively give the NYAG all residual value in the Genesis estate after creditors are paid.
“There is nothing new here. This is the same baseless complaint recirculated to generate another round of press headlines. DCG has always conducted its business lawfully and with integrity,” said the firm.