Binance-backed Chinese news outlet Marsbit has sights on CoinDesk

Quick Take

  • Chinese crypto news site Marsbit is eyeing up a potential bid for rival publisher CoinDesk.
  • Binance, Huobi and OKX are investors in the Mars companies owned by Wang Feng.

Wang Feng, founder of Chinese crypto news outlet Marsbit, said Marsbit is willing to work with other companies to buy crypto news outlet CoinDesk.

“I believe in the future of the crypto industry, and I'm willing to do infrastructure services in a down-to-earth manner, no matter if it's trading or media," Wang said on Twitter. "Element Finance subsidiary Marsbit is willing to organize many well-known funds to cooperate to buy Coindesk, including its crypto media and all its Consensus conference business.”

He added that he would be interested to speak to any investment funds or companies interested in partnering on this.

Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) is currently looking to sell CoinDesk as it faces troubles with its other subsidiary Genesis, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 20. The news site has retained investment bankers at Lazard to explore a potential sale, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, who has expressed interest in buying CoinDesk, said in a YouTube video that the current asking price for the news site is around $200 million. 

In 2019, Binance invested in Mars Finance, which evolved into Marsbit. It already had investors including crypto exchange Huobi and OK Capital, an investment entity related to the OKX crypto exchange.

Wang is also the founder of NFT marketplace Element Finance. CoinDesk is a competitor to The Block.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Tim is the Editor-In-Chief of The Block. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He has earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.

Editor

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