Forged Through Fire: Kindred Stakeholders

I’ve known some kindred spirits for years, yet have never met one of them “IRL”. We have been through tumultuous ups and downs together. Only long-time Galaxy Digital investors will likely understand what our narrative truly means, each in their own way, but hopefully others will find it meaningful. What makes our little intertwined, international community unique is a concept worth pondering. For some, this journey started as far back as nine years ago (2017!).

For me, it all began in the dark days of the fall of 2020. I believe it was early November, when the world was still organized around Covid fears and protocols. Those circumstances alone made way for certain opportunities, for me at least. I think it was mostly because, for reasons I don’t have a clear read on even now, the nature of conversations with people I’m close to shifted. My son was heavily into crypto (still is). Even though his foray into crypto began years before, I became more curious in 2020. As I eagerly asked questions and learned, I became more and more intrigued, but the thought of getting walleted was just too much of a hassle for me, so I researched crypto related stocks to add to my portfolio, first stumbling upon Grayscale. I did okay with it, well, in fact, but I didn’t like the premiums, which felt a bit rigged to me. Then I found Galaxy before I realized that Mike Novogratz, whom I’d crossed paths with over the course of years, was at the helm and founded the company. I’d met Mike only a few times but worked with some of his family members (there are lots of them - good people!) many times, in real estate and philanthropy. Then there was the fact that one of my son's lifelong best friends dated Mike's daughter (they're now married) and I'd spent a bit of time with her with the kids. I’d also sold his former partner’s sprawling Central Park West apartment. We had so many people in common, Mike felt almost like extended family to me (that happens in NYC - it’s the smallest town there ever was in some ways). Even though I never really “knew him” knew him, that sense of connectivity may have given me the courage I needed to venture into Galaxy, as likely the oldest among my fellow Galaxy hodlers. By the end of November of 2020, I decided to sell my two Grayscale funds to rotate into Galaxy at around $4/share. It doubled, then tripled in short order. By early 2021, I was galaxy-pilling my friends and family. Over the years, my financial partner and I have doubled down many times.

Back to our journey…it started so small, like a randomly cast family of accidental travelers stranded on a desert island at times when, not hours, days, or even months, but entire years passed with dismal price action and paltry volume that refused to reflect the inevitable bullishness we clearly saw in the investment we held. At times, after painfully long downturns, we threw caution to the wind and allowed ourselves brief moments of over-the-moon elation when, if not by PA, signs of revival vindicated our contrarian thesis. The price would rise, only to drop prematurely. Shorts shorted. When geopolitical winds tussled the market to the ground, we were the first to hit the pavement and the last to get back on our feet. When crypto’s adolescence revealed the other kids who were cheating that sullied the sector, we were doled out the first and longest punishment. Stuck in detention, it was back to low single digits for us. People joined then left our feed, convinced we were delusional. But we never lost hope, which I’ll admit that, at moments, I suspected was hopium.

We commiserated. We rallied when we didn’t feel like it because others of us needed it. We shared information. We proposed theories, we asked questions. We debated. We served as buoys for each other. We listened. We learned. Occasionally, we got into spats. Over time, we got glimpses of who others among us were, and got to know, love, and rely on the consistency of their characters, whether or not we knew people’s real names. We learned that, for the most part, each voice had value. We gave each other advice on how to manage Trevor, and even found something to love about him as we joked and poked back. Ultimately, his relentless fudding only brought us closer and strengthened our resolve. Even in the darkest moments, we found some relief in each other’s sense of humor. When things were going badly in my life, whether or not our beloved Galaxy was in the toilet, I found solace in our feed. There’s a sense of integrity in sticking with our thesis (even when we questioned it) that was a grounding force throughout the changing winds not only of our stock, but in my life.

We became the Guardians of Galaxy for a while. Now we’re simply galaxy fam, forged through fire (thank you, @habibismore!). I’m grateful for our time in the trenches together as I look ahead and see that our galaxy fam is likely about to grow and morph. Whatever comes next, I couldn’t conjure a better crew to be on this journey with, still in the same boat, facing what looks like a rising tide ready to lift our ship. And with that, I wish every one of my fellow sojourners truly good luck in love and life, and prosperity, always. Bon voyage!