Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_62e448c2af366" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>WisdomTree has started beta testing its consumer financial app </li>
 <li>The firm expects to begin seeing revenues from its digital assets initiatives in 2023 </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Digital asset-focused investment manager WisdomTree sees opportunities to profit from crypto’s recent churns — including expanding the company’s regulatory prowess in a bid to gain additional clients.&nbsp;



WisdomTree, which offers a range of ETFs, ETPs, indexes and model portfolios, ended the second quarter with $74 billion assets under management — down 6.4% from the prior quarter due to market depreciation.&nbsp;



The company’s assets dip came despite net inflows of $3.9 billion, primarily due to flows into WisdomTree’s fixed-income products. Assets under management within the firm’s crypto products plummeted about 60% from $383 million to $151 million despite net inflows of $3 million into those offerings.



WisdomTree’s operating revenues decreased about 1% quarter over quarter to $77 million. Its net income jumped from a loss of about $10 million in the first quarter to a gain of $8 million in the second quarter. The company’s stock price was $5.20 at 4pm ET, down 1.7% for the day.



<h3>A continued focus on digital assets</h3>



Though the industry saw robust funding, ads during the Super Bowl and crypto firms promising “too-good-to-be-true” offerings over the past year, CEO Jonathan Steinberg said on an earnings call Friday, the landscape has shifted dramatically in recent months.&nbsp;



“While some companies have struggled with the realities of regulation and risk management, and other companies have lost the trust of their customers and investors completely, for WisdomTree, the timing of this crypto winter is very constructive and brings lots of opportunity,” Steinberg said.&nbsp;



Bitcoin and ether are each down about 65% from their all-time highs reached last November amid higher-than-normal inflation and turmoil for certain crypto companies.&nbsp;



Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and its LUNA token <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/terra">crashed</a> in May, rattling crypto markets beyond those assets. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/3ac-files-for-bankruptcy-as-co-founders-location-unknown/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Three Arrows Capital</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-files-for-bankruptcy-days-after-freezing-withdrawals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voyager Digital</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-to-file-for-bankruptcy-imminently-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celsius</a> all filed for bankruptcy over the past month as they dealt with liquidity and insolvency issues.&nbsp;



“With these bankruptcies and these client losses, I think a lot of people don’t trust their counterparts in the crypto space the same way,” Will Peck, WisdomTree’s head of digital assets, told Blockworks in an email. “WisdomTree has a great brand, reputation and culture of risk management and regulation, and we’re going to be well-served to pick up a lot of customers for both ETPs, indexes and WisdomTree Prime.”&nbsp;



Many of the firm’s clients in the US and Europe view the current market environment as a good entry point to get involved in digital assets, Peck noted.



WisdomTree Prime, a consumer financial app that the firm <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/wisdomtree-launching-crypto-app/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first revealed plans for</a> in January, is in its initial stages of beta testing. It is designed to allow users to save, spend and invest in cryptoassets such as bitcoin and ether, blockchain-enabled funds and tokenized versions of physical assets, such as gold and US Treasurys.&nbsp;



The fund group has minted a dollar token, Steinberg said, adding that the minting of a gold token is “imminent.”



Initial beta users will be invited from the company’s<a href="https://streaklinks.com/BJHRMh5d3e_p8ZD_SwLn4ckr/https%3A%2F%2Fnam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fstreaklinks.com%252FBJHA-dJqqrN7rsMGZgH7m8hu%252Fhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.wisdomtreeprime.com%25252F%26data%3D05%257C01%257Cwpeck%2540wisdomtree.com%257C548e518b447143d5b26f08da7168e7e2%257C5796cd723ef74a7fbec65b295bc49fe3%257C1%257C1%257C637946992647393586%257CUnknown%257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%253D%257C2000%257C%257C%257C%26sdata%3DSy%252BwbfcLdbCYjrG62PDP9pgp%252FRcS1EmsaNs294jk2ZI%253D%26reserved%3D0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> waitlist</a>, Peck said, adding that there will be “a measured rollout” in the coming months as the firm continues to get user feedback.



Executives said on the call that WisdomTree expects to see revenues from its digital assets initiatives beginning in 2023, but declined to comment on specific projections.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The end goal is to deliver financial services to customers faster, cheaper and with better outcomes than exist today,” the CEO said. “Over time we expect all financial assets to eventually move onto the blockchain infrastructure.”



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WisdomTree CEO: Crypto Winter Brings ‘Lots of Opportunity’

<div id="highlights-block_62bf684bc45fe" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Valkyrie CEO said Grayscale&#8217;s suit against the SEC is not likely to succeed</li>
 <li>Osprey Funds leader believes a spot bitcoin ETF will not be approved during SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s administration</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Grayscale Investments is crafting its initial arguments against the SEC following the agency’s denial of the company’s bitcoin ETF proposal, although some are unconvinced the decision will be overturned.



“Right now we’re just laser-focused on working with the court, setting up briefing schedules and going from there,” Grayscale Chief Legal Officer Craig Salm told Blockworks. “We think that we have very common-sense and compelling arguments here and we think the court will be able to see that as well.”



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/grayscale-sues-sec-over-rejection-of-proposed-spot-bitcoin-etf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grayscale filed</a> a <a href="https://www.docdroid.net/73OjnW4/dc-circuit-petition-for-review-as-filed-pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">petition for review</a> with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Wednesday evening when the SEC rejected the conversion of its bitcoin trust (GBTC) to an ETF.&nbsp;



The firm expects to submit written arguments over the next couple months, Salm said. Grayscale’s attorneys estimate that the suit could take between nine and 12 months at the appellate level.&nbsp;



The company argues the SEC is acting “arbitrarily and capriciously” under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), Salm said. The agency, he added, is also discriminating against issuers by <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/proshares-bitcoin-futures-based-etf-to-begin-trading-tuesday/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">approving futures-based bitcoin ETFs</a> but denying proposed spot-based bitcoin products.



“Both types of ETFs are priced based on the underlying bitcoin markets, and so if you’re OK with one for an ETF, then you also should be OK with the other,” Salm said Friday. “They’re two like investment vehicles that are just being treated [differently] in this situation.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h3>Will Grayscale win?</h3>



Dave Nadig, financial futurist at VettaFi, told Blockworks that the SEC’s congress-approved mandate gives the agency “extremely clear authority” to regulate rule-making about the activities of securities exchanges.&nbsp;



“I think it’s a very tough case for [Grayscale] to win,” he said. “The SEC explicitly is allowed to approve and deny exchange rules based, essentially, on whatever they like.”



To rule in Grayscale’s favor, Nadig added, the SEC would essentially have to decide that because it allowed derivatives products, it must allow a product focused on the underlying asset.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This seems pretty stretchy to me,” he said. “By that logic, they’d have to allow all sorts of really unworkable products, like a physical oil product.”



Leah Wald, CEO of Valkyrie Funds, said in <a href="https://twitter.com/LeahWald/status/1542545687228940289" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a series of Twitter posts</a> Thursday that suing the SEC is not likely to succeed, noting that regulators could potentially approve a spot<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BTC?src=hashtag_click"> </a>bitcoin ETF before Grayscale’s lawsuit ends.



“Not many people expect this suit to go in favor of Grayscale and there isn’t much precedent for such an outcome to occur,” Wald tweeted. “But in order to keep assets flowing in and ensure institutions remain engaged, this is the only real move they have left.”



The SEC also rejected Bitwise Asset Management’s spot bitcoin ETF application this week.&nbsp; The San Francisco-based company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/bitwise-tries-once-more-for-spot-bitcoin-etp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">refiled its proposal last October</a>, attaching roughly 150 pages of research focused on price discovery in the crypto markets.



No spot bitcoin ETF has ever been approved in the US, and a number of industry watchers have said they <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-execs-read-the-tea-leaves-on-spot-bitcoin-etf-approval/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">do not expect one to launch</a> until 2023 at the earliest.



Greg King, CEO of crypto fund issuer Osprey Funds, said the SEC’s decisions on the Grayscale and Bitwise applications were what he expected.



“We believe the SEC’s concerns around offshore trading of bitcoin have not been sufficiently addressed,” King told Blockworks in an email. “This rejection confirms our belief that no spot bitcoin ETF will be approved in [SEC Chair Gary] Gensler’s administration.”



Gensler’s current five-year term expires in 2026.



Some issuers continue to try to launch a product though, as asset manager VanEck <a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/regulation/rule_filings/pending/2022/SR-CboeBZX-2022-035.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed</a> a new application for a spot bitcoin ETF. The firm’s previous application for such an offering <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/sec-rejects-vanecks-proposed-spot-bitcoin-etf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was denied</a> last November.&nbsp;



A VanEck spokesperson declined to comment on the filing. 



GBTC had about $12 billion in assets on Friday. The investment vehicle was <a href="https://ycharts.com/companies/GBTC/discount_or_premium_to_nav" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trading at a 31% discount</a> to its net asset value (NAV) on Thursday, which was about 2 percentage points more than the day before the SEC’s decision.



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Grayscale Faces Uphill Battle With Lawsuit Against SEC

Jack Kubinec

<div id="highlights-block_62bb63dc34cd4" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>27 million CVX tokens unlock Wednesday night at 8 pm ET</li>
 <li>A significant decline in CVX’s price could indicate the crypto market is not done falling</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto investor <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/which-crypto-firms-are-on-defense-during-market-uncertainty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sentiment</a> faces a new test as $100 million worth of tokens for Convex Finance will unlock simultaneously Wednesday night.&nbsp;



Token holders of the asset management cryptocurrency, CVX, face a dilemma: sell their coins at a steep loss or hold in the hope the token’s price will rebound.



The tokens were locked in March after a bug was discovered.&nbsp;



Convex’s price is likely to slip as unlocked tokens hit the market, industry participants said. Experts say the extent of the slippage will reflect investor sentiment — and perhaps even indicate whether the crypto market is nearing a nadir at last.



Convex Finance launched its smart contract for the second time in March after the bug was patched. A mass of investors immediately locked their CVX tokens in the new contracts for a coded-in 16 weeks, and a sizable tranche of tokens — around 30% of total supply — will unlock Wednesday at 8 pm ET.&nbsp;



The price of CVX has cratered from nearly $40 in April to under $4. The flood of tokens ought to make it fall further.&nbsp;



“Anytime you have a decent unlock, not every investor is going to liquidate, but enough are that the price performance is generally negative,” David Martin, product manager at the crypto trading platform FalconX, told Blockworks.



Even a small amount of selling pressure or short interest could tank CVX’s price. The hedge fund Ouroboros Capital, for example, said on Twitter that if just 250,000 of the 27 million CVX being unlocked are sold, the price would likely dive 10%.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">8/N: CVX is so illiquid right now. Thanks for whales like Analytico unstaking his LP and then locking it (more on this later). Just $1mn of CVX sell will pummel price by 10%. How keen would you be to sell if you are already down 80% and have to take 10-30% slippages? <a href="https://t.co/tZ1nn5yo7B">pic.twitter.com/tZ1nn5yo7B</a>&mdash; Ouroboros Capital (@0xroborosCap) <a href="https://twitter.com/0xroborosCap/status/1541601020413095936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



But selling interest appears limited ahead of the unlockening. Martin points out Convex’s funding rate is much smaller than the NFT-focused blockchain Flow’s was ahead of its own unlock event last year, indicating investors do not believe CVX’s price can fall much further.



As actors throughout the crypto industry face liquidity crunches, however, some may sell their newly unlocked CVX out of necessity.



“If [a fund] is in a credit crunch internally…[it] might sell something that just became liquid to continue with operating expenses,” Martin said.



CVX is popular among decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), with six DeFi organizations each holding more than a million tokens.&nbsp;



With a market cap of $230 million, Convex alone is unlikely to shift the crypto market. But the unlockening could indicate whether investors hope to exit their crypto positions at all costs or plan to stay for the long haul.&nbsp;



“If Convex trades up or flat or only slightly down, it shows that capitulation may have stopped. If the price significantly declines, people are puking, for lack of a better word,” Martin said. 



After <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/convex-finance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dipping</a> immediately following the unlock, CVX&#8217;s price rose to around $3.85 Thursday morning.



Major Convex unlocks will continue throughout the summer, with an additional 15 million tokens unlocking in July and August. Tokens belonging to embattled DeFi (decentralized finance) projects Wonderland and Terra unlock August 4.&nbsp;



Convex did not immediately return a request for comment.&nbsp;



This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.


[stock_market_widget type=&#8221;accordion&#8221; template=&#8221;chart&#8221; color=&#8221;#7D26D6&#8243; assets=&#8221;CVX-USD&#8221; start_expanded=&#8221;true&#8221; display_currency_symbol=&#8221;true&#8221; api=&#8221;yf&#8221; chart_range=&#8221;1mo&#8221; chart_interval=&#8221;1d&#8221;]





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Convex Finance ‘Unlockening’ a Bellwether for Crypto Investor Attitudes

<div id="highlights-block_62b4bb3d9c631" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Boundaries between traditional and digital markets “will only continue to blur over time,” says Justin Chapman, the new unit’s leader</li>
 <li>Algorand executive calls the move by “a renowned financial institution” an important step for blockchain industry</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Northern Trust has formed a digital assets and financial markets division, citing increased interest from clients in the development of digital markets.



The new group combines the existing teams responsible for digital asset markets and those focused on market access and insights across traditional securities — such as equities, fixed income, alternatives and private assets.



“Rather than create separate business lines, by aligning our focus on digital and traditional markets together, we can continue to develop services and capabilities that truly reflect and enable our clients’ evolving investment strategies,” Pete Cherecwich, the firm’s president of asset servicing, said in a statement.



Justin Chapman, the company’s global head of market advocacy innovation and research, is set to lead the newly formed unit.



“Traditional and digital markets already co-exist,” Chapman said in a statement. “And the boundaries between the two will only continue to blur over time.”&nbsp;



A Northern Trust spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.



Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust offers wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. In addition to its $1.5 trillion in assets under management, as of March 31, the company had $15.5 trillion in assets under administration and custody.



The new unit comes amid a crypto market sell-off that has left bitcoin’s price down 30% in the past two weeks and roughly 70% down from the asset’s all-time high last November.&nbsp;



It also follows several moves in recent years by Northern Trust to dive deeper in the blockchain space.&nbsp;



The company partnered with IBM in 2017 to build a blockchain based on the Hyperledger Fabric. The technology was made available to Switzerland-based asset manager Unigestion to manage the administration of its private equity fund. In 2020, Northern Trust and BondEvalue completed the first trade of a fractionalized blockchain-based bond.



More recently, Northern Trust collaborated with the venture arm of Standard Chartered <a href="https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/pr/2020/standard-chartered-northern-trust-launch-zodia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">to launch Zodia Custody</a>, a crypto custody solution for institutions. 



Nina Tannenbaum, head of business operations at Algorand, called Northern Trust “a renowned financial institution,” noting that its new unit is an important step for the industry.



“Blockchain technology has the power to fuse traditional finance with the future of finance in a way that&#8217;s secure, scalable, and efficient,” Tannenbaum told Blockworks. “We&#8217;re happy to welcome Northern Trust to the Web3 ecosystem.&#8221;



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New Northern Trust Unit Merges Crypto, TradFi Teams

<div id="highlights-block_6261cfa696fa6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Simplify Asset Management CEO Paul Kim says bitcoin is increasingly becoming an “important exposure”</li>
 <li>The company last year launched an ETF that includes a 10% allocation to the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and filed in January to launch a Web3 fund</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



ETF firm Simplify Asset Management is looking to expand its crypto-related offerings.



The New York-based firm proposed to launch the Simplify Bitcoin Strategy Risk-Managed Income ETF (MAXI), according to a Wednesday <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1810747/000182912622008428/simplifyexchange_485apos.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">regulatory disclosure</a>. It would carry an expense ratio of 97 basis points, the filing notes.



The fund would invest in standardized, cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).



The planned offering’s option overlay strategy consists of purchasing exchange-traded protective put options and writing exchange-traded call options on bitcoin futures or bitcoin-related ETFs.



MAXI would also invest in US Treasury securities and ETFs that invest in them.



Paul Kim, Simplify’s co-founder and CEO, called bitcoin and crypto “important exposures.”&nbsp;



“If people are investing time, resources and careers into building an industry or a market, de facto it’s an important industry or market,” he told Blockworks. “Even a purely passive market investor may want to at least get off zero and have a little bit of a position in there.”



Though personally not very invested in crypto, he said, he believes investors should be “cautiously optimistic” about the space.&nbsp;



“Given all the geopolitical and macro reasons why things like bitcoin and crypto can be important, I think it’s a call option on something that could become very big,” he said.



Simplify Asset Management specializes in options-based investment strategies for advisers. It has 22 ETFs trading in the US with combined assets of roughly $1.4 billion, according to ETF.com.



The latest filing would not be Simplify’s first foray into crypto.&nbsp;



Simplify <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/simplify-reveals-plans-to-launch-web3-etf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed in January</a> to launch an ETF focused on Web3 and metaverse companies in the US and abroad.  



The company in May 2021 launched its US Equity PLUS GBTC ETF (SPBC), which primarily invests in US equities while also offering investors a 10% exposure to bitcoin through the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).



Grayscale has proposed converting GBTC to an ETF, and the SEC is expected to rule on that proposal in July. The agency greenlit bitcoin futures ETFs to hit the US market last October but has continuously denied applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. 



Kim said it may take a change in administration before the SEC approves a spot bitcoin ETF.&nbsp;



“Once [the SEC] provided the bitcoin futures exposure, is the value-add so massive to approve a spot conversion or a spot ETF?” he said. “Inside the crypto industry you would say of course there is. But outside, is there really a massive difference from an investor perspective? Maybe not.”



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Simplify CEO: Investors Should Be ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Crypto

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_62571c66e7bc6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>FIS clients will now use Fireblocks’ platform for crypto trading and investment exposure</li>
 <li>Fireblocks hit a valuation of $8 billion earlier this year</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Payment giant Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) Wednesday partnered with cryptocurrency custody firm Fireblocks to provide an institutional solution for safeguarding digital assets.



FIS’ capital markets clients will now move, store and issue digital assets through Fireblocks’ services and wallet platform. FIS clients will also be able to access stacking and lending tools, DeFi assets and “other more advanced forms of digital asset exposure,” the companies said in a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220413005068/en/FIS-Teams-with-Fireblocks-to-Accelerate-Crypto-Adoption-within-Capital-Markets-Industry-Globally" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>.



“As digital currencies become more mainstream, capital markets firms will greatly benefit from a single destination that helps them manage many classes of digital assets,” Nasser Khodri, head of capital markets at FIS, said. “This exciting new agreement is a proof point of our commitment to invest in growing our digital asset capabilities for our global client base.”



The move comes shortly after Fireblocks hit a valuation of more than $8 billion, following a $550 million <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/fireblocks-raises-550-million/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Series E funding round</a> in January. Fireblocks’ investors include Fidelity-backed venture capital firms Eight Roads and MState. 



It is “inevitable that every business will need to work with crypto or digital assets,” Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov told Blockworks at the time.



FIS’ interest in expanding its digital asset offerings comes as more institutional investors and asset managers are starting to take a closer look at the industry. The vast majority — <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/fidelity-most-institutional-investors-open-to-crypto-want-an-etf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">84%</a> — of American and European big-money investors are interested in investment vehicles with exposure to digital assets, according to <a href="https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/articles/digital-asset-study-2021?sf249449858=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fidelity Digital Assets’ 2021 Institutional Investor Digital Assets Study</a>.



“Data continues to show institutional investors expect the digital assets industry to more closely mirror that of other asset classes – whether that’s multiple product types covering a variety of investment strategies or the ability to access digital asset investments through traditional financial firms,” Peter Jubber, a managing director at Fidelity Digital Funds, said.



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Institutional Asset Manager Enlists Fireblocks To Help With Crypto Security

<div id="highlights-block_624e0099500ec" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The platform will offer a Bitcoin Tracker, which will track bitcoin’s price versus USD, and the Bitcoin Smart Beta, a tool designed to reduce volatility and drawdowns</li>
 <li>The launch of BCAM comes shortly after Blockchain.com closed a funding round of an undisclosed amount and raised its valuation to $14 billion</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Cryptocurrency financial services company Blockchain.com has teamed up with veteran investment manager Altis Partners to launch an asset management platform, the companies announced Wednesday.



Blockchain.com Asset Management (BCAM) will provide asset management resources, crypto trading infrastructure, research and security software services to institutional investors, high networth individuals and family offices.



Through the partnership, Altis will manage investments and Blockchain.com will provide the research, security and software services and trading infrastructure.



“The advent of distributed ledger technologies and crypto assets has the potential to change the structure of global capital markets while presenting new opportunities for investors,” Blockchain.com Chief Strategy Officer Charles McGarraugh wrote in a <a href="https://medium.com/blockchain/blockchain-com-and-altis-partners-launch-asset-management-platform-bcam-671ef5d7179f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a> Wednesday. “We are pleased to offer our risk management and operational expertise in this exciting sector to an even broader range of clients.”



The platform will offer a Bitcoin Tracker, which will track bitcoin’s price versus USD, and the Bitcoin Smart Beta, a tool designed to reduce volatility and drawdowns, McGarraugh said.



The launch of BCAM comes shortly after Blockchain.com closed a funding round of an undisclosed amount and raised its valuation to $14 billion. The firm also recently acquired <a href="https://medium.com/blockchain/accelerating-institutional-growth-through-the-acquisition-of-altonomy-3a2ebd4e351a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Altonomy</a>, a Singapore-based over-the-counter trading and executions company, in order to expand institutional offerings.



“To make good on our mission to build a financial system for the internet that empowers anyone anywhere to control their money, we need to accelerate institutional adoption,” Blockchain.com said in a blog post at the time of the announcement. “I can’t wait to see what our teams accomplish together.”



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