Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced it has partnered with investment management firm BlackRock to offer crypto trading to institutional clients.
Coinbase announced the partnership in a blog post written by Brett Tejpaul, Head of Coinbase Institutional, and Greg Tusar, Vice President, Institutional Product.
The partnership will allow institutional clients of Aladdin, BlackRock’s end-to-end investment management platform, direct access to crypto via a connection to Coinbase Prime, which will provide crypto trading, custody, prime brokerage, and reporting capabilities. However, those institutional clients will also need to be clients of Coinbase as well.
To begin with, only trading access to bitcoin will be provided, although Coinbase said they will continue to progress the platform integration and roll out functionality in phases to interested clients.
Joseph Chalom, Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock, said:
“Our institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining exposure to digital asset markets and are focused on how to efficiently manage the operational lifecycle of these assets. This connectivity with Aladdin will allow clients to manage their bitcoin exposures directly in their existing portfolio management and trading workflows for a whole portfolio view of risk across asset classes.”
Tejpaul and Tusar stated that Coinbase’s partnership with BlackRock is an “exciting milestone” for the firm. They added:
Brett Tejpaul Source: LinkedIn
As the trusted partner enabling institutions to participate and transact in the cryptoeconomy, we are committed to pushing the industry forward and creating new access points as institutional crypto adoption continues to rapidly accelerate.
Coinbase has struggled in recent months, with crypto assets declining significantly and several firms suffering the impact. Furthermore, the crypto exchange is facing an SEC investigation over its cryptocurrency listings.
Having gained a degree in economics, Alan entered the world of financial services starting his career in London and then moving to New York for a number of years. His first post at a City bank saw him establish a reputation as an forex trader. Having recently returned from New York after eight successful years, Alan is now a prosperous trader in his own right concentrating on commodities and forex.
