March 27, 2018
A number of cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related media outlets are reporting that Bitstamp, the Slovenian cryptocurrency exchange, could be sold to South Korean investors for around 400 million USD. The news was first announced on Twitter by Nathaniel Popper, a finance and technology journalist who works for The New York Times, and while sources close to the company are said to have confirmed the deal no official announcement has yet been made. The purchase, if it happens, is believed to be unlikely to directly affect the operations of the firm, as it is expected that Bitstamp would remain registered in the EU rather moving its operations to Asia.
Along with all the other news about virtual currency exchanges, I've heard from numerous sources that one of the oldest exchanges, Bitstamp, is in the final stages of being sold to South Korean investors for ~$400m. Neither the exchange nor the buyers are commenting.
— Nathaniel Popper (@nathanielpopper) March 22, 2018
At the time of writing Bitstamp is the 10th largest such exchange by cryptocurrency market capitalisation, which currently stands at 196.7 million USD. The company was founded by two Slovenes in 2011, Nejc Kodrič and Damijan Merlak, who are among the richest people in the country, but is now based in Luxembourg, and was recently in the news for co-funding the world’s first “monument to Bitcoin”, in the form of a sculpture on a roundabout in Kranj.
