A recent Bloomberg report revealed that a Singapore-based investor, Foresight Ventures, is acquiring a majority stake in crypto news publication The Block.
According to Bloomberg, this move comes after a series of leadership changes within the company and a desire to “distance itself” from a former CEO’s association with “clandestine loans” from Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research.
The deal, worth over $50 million, involves Foresight Ventures acquiring the stake from the former executive, Michael McCaffrey.
Foresight Ventures Secures Majority Stake In The Block
The Block had undergone several leadership changes and was keen on severing ties with its former CEO, who had accepted undisclosed loans from Alameda Research.
The former executive McCaffrey is alleged to have secretly accepted three separate loans totaling $43 million from the trading firm owned by Bankman-Fried. The Block’s reporting on the deal was published after FTX’s collapse.
Notably, McCaffrey is said to have used some of the borrowed funds to buy out other investors in The Block and provide working capital for the crypto news site.
Per the report, Foresight Ventures, a digital asset-focused venture firm based in Singapore, acquired the majority stake in The Block through a direct transaction with McCaffrey.
The venture firm has deployed around $70 million in crypto and non-crypto projects this year and has a total deployment of approximately $200 million since its inception.
Debt Repayment Uncertainty
It remains unclear whether McCaffrey will utilize the proceeds from the Foresight Ventures deal to repay the loans to the collapsed hedge fund’s estate or the current status of those loans.
While McCaffrey has declined to comment, representatives of the FTX estate have not responded to requests for a statement. Forest Bai, CEO of Foresight Ventures, will assume the role of chairman of The Block’s board, and Tony Cheng, a general partner at Foresight Ventures, will also join the board.
Despite the controversy surrounding the association with Bankman-Fried, Foresight Ventures expressed its confidence in The Block’s potential. Forest Bai stated that the firm is not concerned about the media company’s past and is focused on its prospects.
Foresight Ventures acquiring a controlling stake in The Block marks a significant milestone in the ever-evolving crypto news landscape. According to Bloomberg, the decision was made amid leadership changes and the company’s need to distance itself from its former chief executive’s controversial loans.
However, how this acquisition affects the company’s ability to perform and cover the dynamic crypto landscape remains to be seen.
Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency in the market, is being traded at $36,800, indicating a slight decline of 0.8% within the last 24 hours. Nevertheless, BTC has managed to maintain its overall gains of 6% and 36% over the past fourteen and thirty days, respectively.
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