Coinbase Acquires Asset Management Company to Expand Services for Institutional Investors

Acquisition of One River Digital Asset Subsidiary

Major US crypto asset (virtual currency) exchange Coinbase announced on the 3rd that it has acquired digital asset management company One River Digital Asset Management (ORDAM).

Upon the acquisition, ORDAM will be renamed to Coinbase Asset Management (CBAM). Through CBAM, Coinbase plans to operate a cryptocurrency investment advisory service for new and existing institutional clients.

Coinbase already has more than 18 trillion yen ($130 billion) in institutional trading volume each quarter and holds about 6.8 trillion yen (more than $50 billion) in institutional investor assets on its platform. explanation. He also continued that as of the 4Q of 2022 (October to December), about 25% of the world’s top 100 hedge funds under management have chosen Coinbase.

With this acquisition, we are poised to further support institutional investors’ participation in the cryptocurrency market. Details of the transaction, including the purchase price, were not disclosed.

Coinbase is currently offering cryptocurrency trading, staking, prime brokerage and other services to institutional investors. The new addition of asset management services is expected to expand the possibility of offering services to pension funds and other asset management companies.

About OneRiver Digital Asset Management

OneRiver Digital Asset Management (ORDAM) is a digital subsidiary of OneRiver Asset Management, an investment firm also registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Eric Peters, CEO of both companies, will remain in office. OneRiver Asset Management will remain a separate company from Coinbase.

Eric has over 30 years of experience in the asset management industry and in 2020 invested in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) for the first time with One River Asset Management. Since then, he has collaborated with Coinbase on trading and custody.

Eric said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, there was concern that the value of fiat currencies would decline due to monetary easing in various countries, and he focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Eric will then launch OneRiver Digital Asset Management in 2021. Coinbase Ventures has invested as the lead investor in the Series A round. According to Eric, starting in 2022, Coinbase and OneRiver have been talking about possible further collaborations.

Eric also describes the business of OneRiver Digital Asset Management. He said he has built indexes and trend-following functions, and has provided advanced services such as a carbon-neutral Bitcoin fund and an Ethereum staking fund.

It also goes on to say that it has generated over ¥140 billion ($1 billion) in profits from its investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum, and has returned those profits to investors by the end of 2021. In 2022, the old Terra ecosystem collapsed and FTX collapsed, but it did not invest in these projects and was profitable even during the turmoil.

Owen Lowe, executive director of investment firm Oppenheimer & Co, said the move “provides a platform for diversifying revenue” and “feels like a pretty good move for Coinbase in the long run.” there is