Galaxy Digital CEO Says He’s Ripple’s Day-One Investor, Sparks Reactions in XRP Community

Debate sprouted in the crypto community after Mr. Huber, a self-acclaimed sleuth, alleged that former SEC director William Hinman shared insider knowledge on regulations with venture capitalists, including his son, Nate Hinman.

Mr. Huber addressing Novograzt’s statement on Bloomberg Television, said the venture capitalist bet on Hinman’s speech because he knew what the former director would say. 

However, Galaxy Digital’s CEO, Mike Novogratz, debunked the allegation, saying he was among Ripple’s early investors and had never met or interacted with Hinman.

Mr. Huber Calls Out Galaxy Digital CEO On Hinman-Related Debate

Mr. Huber supported his claims with a clip of Novograzt saying he bet “dimes to doughnuts” on the exact statement Hinman would make during his speech at the Yahoo Markets Summit in 2018.

“How do we know that Bill Hinman Shared insider knowledge about his regulations with other venture capitalists? Because other venture capitalists went on national television and were betting dimes to donuts on the exact things he was about to say,” Mr. Huber remarked.

The allegations stemmed from discussions around Hinman’s infamous speech at the Yahoo Markets Summit on June 14, 2018, when he declared that Ethereum and Bitcoin are not securities. 

Notably, Novogratz bought massive chunks of Ether before Hinman’s declaration, and Mr. Huber believes it’s connected to his statement on TV regarding the speech.

Novogratz Debunks Huber’s Accusation

Defending himself against the allegations, Novogratz claimed he had never met Hinman before nor had any correspondence with the former SEC director.

 “To be clear, I have never bet Bill Hinman, have never spoken to or corresponded with him,” he said. 

The venture capitalist said the only person he spoke to about the SEC’s matters is Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse. He noted that Garlinghouse was paying a regular visit to the SEC at the time. Novogratz also disclosed that he was among the early investors to buy shares in Ripple Labs and has maintained his stake till today. 

He said: “[I] Have been a day one investor in Ripple Labs and have not sold any shares in the past ten years.” 

Huber responding to Novograzt’s claims, said the investor was making excuses. According to Huber, Ripple’s business model largely depends on XRP.

Otherwise, Ripple is only a software company. According to Mr. Huber, it made no sense that Novogratz invested in Ripple and still sees XRP as a scam.

He deemed Novograzt’s claims a plausible deniability, adding that things would look different if the venture capitalist bought 0.5% of XRP supply for $500,000 as he did with Ether.

XRP Community Reacts To Huber’s Exchange With Novograzt

Interestingly, the debate between Huber and Galaxy Digital’s CEO attracted XRP community members’ attention. Yassin Mobarak, founder of Dizer Capital and an XRP enthusiast, reacted to Novograzt’s claims. 

Mobarak asked why Novograzt has been disparaging XRP and promoting Ether despite having a stake in Ripple. Several other XRP proponents also commented, concurring with Mobarak’s remark.