Startup Raises $20M to Bridge Crypto, Wealth Management

Eaglebrook Advisors raised $20M in round led by Castle Island Ventures, Brewer Lane Ventures

article-image

Blockworks Exclusive Art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Eaglebrook plans to expand to broker-dealer and wirehouse markets in 2022, CEO says
  • Wealth management space has been “completely underserved” from a crypto product perspective, according to Castle Island Ventures Partner Sean Judge

A cryptocurrency investment firm has raised an additional $20 million of capital as it devises new products for wealth management professionals.

The Series A investment round for Eaglebrook Advisors— a registered investment advisor (RIA) that specializes in separately managed accounts (SMAs) — was led by venture capital firms Castle Island Ventures and Brewer Lane Ventures. Other backers include Gemini’s Frontier Fund, Fidelity Investments affiliate Avon Ventures, Jump Capital and Sybil Capital.

“This funding gives Eaglebrook the opportunity to improve our technology and solutions for wealth management firms,” Eaglebrook CEO Christopher King told Blockworks in an email. “We will continue executing in the RIA market and plan to move towards the [independent broker-dealer] and wirehouse markets in 2022.”

Founded in 2019, Eaglebrook works with about 500 financial advisors and 40 RIAs in the US that allocate client capital to Eaglebrook SMAs.

Eaglebrook is focused on accelerating the adoption of crypto SMAs as the vehicle of choice for wealth management firms. Looking to go beyond bitcoin and ether, King said, the firm is looking to add products focused on decentralized finance (DeFi), layer-1 and layer-2 protocols, NFTs, gaming and yield opportunities. 

Castle Island Partner Sean Judge told Blockworks that wealth management has been “completely underserved” when it comes to crypto products. As the wealth transfer from baby boomers to millennials accelerate, he added, advisors will look for new ways to serve the younger generation. 

“From all the diligence we’ve done from talking with RIAs and asset managers, it’s pretty clear that they’re looking for a solution, and we believe that fundamentally over time they’re going to continue to look for a solution,” Judge said.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet approved an ETF that would hold cryptocurrencies directly. The agency gave the go-ahead to the first bitcoin futures ETFs in October, though industry watchers have said such products may not be a great tool for advisors and long-term investors. 

“From a product perspective, separately managed accounts are fundamentally just a better end product for clients,“ Judge said. “But also, what Eaglebrook has built from a technology perspective to integrate with the broader portfolio and integrate with all the other technology solutions that these financial advisors use is a really unique asset.”

The fundraise follows Eaglebrook’s announcement in November that it would launch a crypto educational platform for advisors. King called the $30 trillion wealth management market at the time “the biggest elephant in the room and the lowest-hanging fruit” for the crypto industry.

A report published last week by Bitwise Asset Management and ETF Trends found that the percentage of financial professionals investing client funds in crypto rose from 9% to 15% over the past year.       


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.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Research Report Templates (11).png

Research

Under current market conditions, stablecoins are paying compelling risk premiums multiples higher than the risk-free rate. Elevated premiums present a highly positive context for continued growth in the aggregate stablecoin supply and new inflows coming into the market to capture this elevated carry. Onchain money markets stand as primary beneficiaries of these market conditions and a forward outlook of a growing stablecoin supply. Similarly, Pendle’s PTs across a number of assets can provide attractive instruments to hedge variance and lock in a compelling fixed yield.

article-image

Sponsored

A next-gen blockchain offering 10,000 TPS, instant finality, and unparalleled developer incentives

article-image

BiT argues that Coinbase had ulterior motives to delist wBTC

article-image

Bitwise signaled its plans to list a solana ETF in the US less than a month ago

article-image

In the meantime, Trump will name either Commissioner Hester Peirce or Mark Uyeda as acting chair

article-image

Trump’s latest industry rendezvous featured a conversation with Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek

article-image

Unlike other BTC-pegged solutions, sBTC stays liquid — you don’t need to stake or lock it up to earn rewards