Galaxy is expanding its global footprint with a new office and entity in Abu Dhabi, moving into one of the world’s fastest-growing digital asset hubs.
Key Takeaways:
The company confirmed Wednesday that it will establish an operation under the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s international financial center and a rising destination for crypto and fintech firms.
Founder and CEO Mike Novogratz said the expansion reflects Galaxy’s strategy to deepen its partnerships and broaden its operations across regions showing strong institutional demand.
The move comes as Galaxy reports strong financial performance, including $505 million in net income for Q3 2025 and $3.2 billion in equity.
The firm has remained active across the crypto landscape, with recent involvement in a planned $1.65 billion Solana treasury fund alongside Cantor Fitzgerald, Multicoin Capital and Jump Crypto.
Managing director Bouchra Darwazah highlighted the importance of the Middle East, describing it as a center of capital, innovation and investor sophistication.
She added that the new office will support Galaxy’s ambition to position itself as a leading global digital asset investment and infrastructure firm.
Galaxy is officially expanding into Abu Dhabi.
— Galaxy (@galaxyhq) December 10, 2025
Today, we announced our new @ADGlobalMarket office, strengthening our global reach and deepening our commitment to one of the world’s most dynamic financial centers.
Read the announcement here: https://t.co/YEw7dZw8ae pic.twitter.com/hifgY2F05J
Galaxy joins a growing list of digital asset companies turning to the UAE as a base for Middle East expansion.
Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have approved registrations for major global exchanges over the past year, including Binance and Bybit.
Stablecoin firms have also secured key approvals. In November, ADGM allowed regulated companies to issue Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, while this week the financial center recognized Tether’s USDt as an accepted fiat-referenced token.
Circle also received authorization to operate as a financial service provider, paving the way for wider use of USDC in the region.
Galaxy’s arrival underscores the UAE’s drive to attract major players as it positions itself as a global leader in digital asset regulation and infrastructure.
As reported, Tether’s USDT stablecoin has also secured regulatory recognition as an approved fiat-referenced token across a wide range of blockchains inside the ADGM.
Tether said ADGM now permits licensed institutions in the financial free zone to conduct regulated activities involving USDT across Aptos, Celo, Cosmos, Kaia, Near, Polkadot, Tezos, TON and TRON.
These approvals expand on earlier recognition for USDT on Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche.
On Monday, Binance disclosed that it has also secured full authorization to operate its flagship Binance.com platform under ADGM oversight, a milestone that comes after years of regulatory scrutiny.
Binance will operate through three distinct legal entities in the zone, an exchange, a clearing house and a broker-dealer, reflecting a traditional financial-market structure designed to enable regulated trading, custody, settlement and off-exchange services.
The post Galaxy Launches Abu Dhabi Arm to Grow Middle East Presence appeared first on Cryptonews.
Ripple’s most recent funding round has become one of the biggest crypto-related deals of the year, mainly because of who joined in and how the deal was structured.
According to details shared in Bloomberg’s report, major Wall Street names, including affiliates of Citadel Securities, Fortress Investment Group, Brevan Howard, and Galaxy Digital, put $500 million into Ripple, giving the company a valuation of around $40 billion. This instantly turned the round into one of the strongest signs yet that traditional finance is taking a serious interest in the XRP ecosystem.
In early November 2025, Ripple closed a major private equity round that injected $500 million into the company, resulting in a valuation of roughly $40 billion. However, new details show that the most surprising part of the transaction is not the amount raised but the agreement behind it. Bloomberg reports that investors in this round did not simply buy Ripple shares and hope the value rises. Instead, they secured built-in protections that guarantee them profits later.
They were given the right to sell their shares back to Ripple in three to four years at a 10% yearly return, unless Ripple goes public before then. At that rate, Ripple would need to pay roughly $732 million to buy the shares back after four years. That means even if Ripple’s valuation stays flat or drops, the investors still walk away with guaranteed gains.
However, if Ripple decides to buy the shares back earlier, the investors get an even higher payout of around 25% annualized rate. A liquidation preference was also included, meaning these investors get paid first if anything goes wrong. Ripple noted in its announcement of the investment round that it has repurchased more than 25% of its outstanding shares over the past few years.
Even though the investors bought equity in Ripple, not XRP itself, most of Ripple’s value still comes from its massive XRP holdings. According to Bloomberg, two of the funds that put in money noted that at least 90% of Ripple’s net value is tied to XRP. As of July 2025, Ripple held around $124 billion worth of XRP, although most of its XRP holdings are held in escrow.
This means the investment round, in reality, is also a bet on XRP’s long-term relevance and future market strength. If the price of XRP grows, Ripple benefits, and so do the investors who now hold equity backed by a company sitting on one of the world’s largest digital asset reserves.
However, the $500 million investment does show that serious investors believe Ripple will continue growing, but just that Ripple’s success is still directly linked to the XRP price.
Galaxy Digital, a major crypto services firm, transferred 900 BTC to a wallet that was created shortly before the move on December 9, 2025, according to on-chain monitoring shared by blockchain analysts.
The coins were valued at close to $81.60 million at the time of the transfer, implying an average price near $90,656 per Bitcoin.
According to on-chain trackers, the receiving address showed no prior history, which caught attention because transfers of this size tend to leave a clear trail and invite scrutiny.
The initial notice came from blockchain sleuths who flagged the transaction and published the receiving address for public view. No public statement has come from Galaxy Digital to explain the move.
Based on reports, big transfers by firms like Galaxy Digital often involve custody reshuffles, client orders, or trades arranged off-exchange. That said, a transfer to a brand-new address does not by itself prove a sale took place.
A newly created wallet received 900 $BTC($81.59M) from Galaxy Digital 2 hours ago.https://t.co/Ahrqpn4Hip pic.twitter.com/EIWmMXyWJZ
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 9, 2025
The coins might be placed into cold storage, moved between internal wallets, or prepared for an over-the-counter trade. Public data show only the on-chain flow; the motive behind it remains unconfirmed.
Background On Galaxy DigitalGalaxy Digital has handled several very large transactions this year, and that track record adds context to the latest move.
Earlier in 2025 the firm facilitated a notably large transfer tied to a long-dormant early Bitcoin holder, a sequence of transactions that amounted to tens of thousands of BTC and drew wide market attention.
Those prior actions showed Galaxy operating as a major intermediary when big holders decide to move or sell coins.
Market Reaction And RisksTraders watched price action closely after the transfer was flagged, but the mere movement of BTC between wallets does not always trigger market swings.
If the coins entered an exchange or were offered for public sale, price impact would be more likely. If they remained in custody or were split into smaller distributions, the market effect could be muted.
For now, there is no public evidence that the transfer caused immediate selling or that the funds were liquidated.
What To Watch NextObservers will look for follow-up on-chain flows — for instance, whether the new address sends coins onward, or whether linked wallets show signs of exchange deposits.
Analysts will also watch for any official comments from Galaxy Digital or disclosures tied to client mandates.
Until then, the facts are limited to the Bitcoin transaction record itself and the valuation snapshot reported when the move was first spotted.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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