Galaxy Digital 3Q19 Earnings Recap: A sober reset of expectations, as crypto industry remains 'challenging'

In terms of trading headwinds, Novogratz expressed frustration over the Telegram coin (Grams) still not being available to trade — an asset which he believed "would have been a very profitable thing for the Trading business, and the first chance to see real mass adoption with ~280 million users." Novogratz also cited geopolitical uncertainty, regulatory concerns around Facebook's Libra project, international crypto exchange operations, and the general de-risking post-2Q's run-up as core headwinds to trading volumes and revenue in the quarter (which were down in absolute terms across the market).

Taken together, while bitcoin has rallied close to 100% this year, it hasn't fully translated to GLXY share appreciation, as shares are up only 14% on the year.