Gemini To Expand Institutional Reach via Partnership With Betterment

Crypto exchange and custody firm to serve as the digital investment adviser’s custodian for new portfolio offering

article-image

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini | Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Betterment’s 730,000 customers to have access next month to crypto portfolios constructed from digital assets listed on the Gemini Exchange
  • Banks, fintechs and wealth managers among the institutions showing more interest in crypto, Gemini chief strategy officer says

Top robo-advisers are deepening their still-nascent cryptocurrency dealings. 

The latest indicator: digital assets exchange and custodian Gemini has struck a deal with quantitative financial adviser Betterment in an effort to capture a slice of the growing number of crypto-minded institutions that are, in turn, going after retail traders apace.

With more than 730,000 customers, Betterment is set to offer crypto portfolios to clients starting next month constructed from digital assets listed on Gemini. Gemini serves as Betterment’s crypto custodian. 

Partners of Betterment for Advisors, a product that allows investment pros to automate portfolio management, would as a result for the first time be able to invest in crypto for clients. 

“We’re seeing increased interest in crypto from a broad range of institutions and intermediaries from large global banks, to fintechs, to wealth managers,” Marshall Beard, Gemini’s chief strategy officer, told Blockworks in an email. “We think these institutions will be critical to onboarding the next wave of people into Web3 and crypto.”

Despite the ongoing bear market, some industry participants say crypto interest from traditional finance players is higher than ever.

Fidelity in April moved to allow certain US workers to allocate a portion of their retirement savings to bitcoin through the company’s 401(k) options. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with $8.5 trillion in assets under management, partnered with Coinbase last month and days later launched a bitcoin private trust.

The investment case for ether has changed for institutions after the Merge, proof-of-stake aficionados say, because staking yields that investors can now earn from the asset could bring in a flood of institutional capital looking for fixed-income-like returns.

The company acquired digital asset portfolio management platform BITRIA in January to allow more asset and wealth managers to meet clients’ demand for crypto. A week later, the company said it would buy crypto trading tech platform Omniex in a deal designed to simplify the experience for institutional investors looking to go deeper into the space. 

Gemini-owned NFT art marketplace Nifty Gateway was selected to offer NFT storage for Starbucks’ Web3 loyalty program revealed earlier this month.

“We are always looking at accretive partnerships with both institutions and consumer brands that can help bring crypto to more people,” Beard said.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

kamino cover.jpg

Research

Kamino has solidified its position as the leading money market on Solana and is emerging as a DeFi bluechip. Although DeFi competition is fierce, Kamino has kept iterating on its product to provide the best-in-class UX, paired with a robust risk management framework and battle-tested infrastructure. Given the rollout of Kamino Lend V2, the protocol may scale aggressively over the coming months, penetrating previously untapped markets in Solana DeFi.

article-image

Also in the tokenized fund space, Franklin Templeton launches on Base and Securitize hits $1 billion in tokenized RWA onchain

article-image

It turns out that bitcoin never actually hit an all-time high in March. Thanks a lot, inflation.

article-image

Spire, Citrea and Nillion also announced raises this week

article-image

The latest recipient of an SEC Wells notice is a Web3 gaming company

article-image

Thursday’s selloff was led by tech stocks, triggered by disappointing outlooks from giants Meta and Microsoft

article-image

Historically, positive returns have been a bit more of a toss-up during the year’s 11th month