Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_6305da3019f27" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Peter Eliades says he looks to expand on Floating Point Group’s existing presence across 50 institutional accounts </li>
 <li>The executive spent the last three years as head of electronic sales and trading at Wells Fargo</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A traditional finance (TradFi) veteran with more than two decades of experience at bulge-bracket banks JPMorgan and Wells Fargo is jumping into crypto.



Digital assets prime brokerage <a href="https://www.floating.group" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Floating Point Group</a> has tapped <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-eliades-38a8978/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peter Eliades</a> — who last headed electronic trading sales for Wells Fargo — to oversee business development in the US and throughout Asia Pacific.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Eliades told Blockworks that the influence of cryptocurrency across “traditional media, sports, sponsorship [and] gaming” has become “increasingly evident.” The growing influence of digital assets in traditional spheres “by extension woke [Eliades] to the possibility of exploring something new and innovative,” he said.&nbsp;



The executive’s focus on crypto stemmed from investing personal capital in a bid to “learn more about the benefits of digital markets and their pain points.”



Eliades was a vice president at Lehman Brothers in 2001,&nbsp; before becoming a managing director at Bear Stearns &amp; Co. about four years later. He went on to work for JPMorgan as head of Americas trading before joining Wells Fargo, and now looks to make a splash in crypto.



&#8220;[Eliades] has built world-class electronic trading businesses for decades and understands the role that crypto will play in shaping the future of global financial systems,” Floating Point CEO John Peurifoy said in a statement.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-28959" width="273" height="410" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=683 683w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=200 200w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=1365 1365w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=171 171w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=174 174w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=146 146w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=53 53w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=33 33w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pete-Eliades-683x1024.jpg?w=1707 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px" /><figcaption>Peter Eliades, Floating Point&#8217;s new hire</figcaption></figure></div>


Joining Floating Point was a particularly easy transition, he added, as Eliades has consulted for the company since 2018. The firm was founded that year and is backed by firms including Coinbase’s venture arm, Naval Ravikant and Tribe Capital.



Eliades said he is focused on helping Floating Point earn client trust and establish itself as “critical subject matter experts who help bridge the gap between crypto-natives and TradFi firms.”&nbsp;



He highlighted the company’s global execution desk that can handle flexible order instructions and execute on a customer’s behalf. Though common in TradFi with equity and options markets, Eliades said, such capabilities are still fairly elusive in crypto.&nbsp;



“We see it as our first touch point to help bring asset managers into the space and it&#8217;s the service they’re all looking for first before they get more complicated with their operations,” the new head of distribution said.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The hire of Eliades comes after the company revealed the <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/floating-point-group-releases-flowvault-a-cryptocurrency-settlement--transfers-platform-for-exchange-based-trading-301559304.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launch of FlowVault</a> in June. The service offers a console- and API-based management of assets across exchanges via a single account.



“That gives us a really exciting springboard to branch out into giving them the same smooth secure access into DeFi and other critical partnerships with trading solutions and OTC liquidity aggregators,” the executive added. 



“[This allows] clients to not only see and manage their assets but also trade, stake, store and leverage across the many options that are opening up to our crypto world.”



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Crypto Prime Brokerage Enlists Former Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Exec

<div id="highlights-block_61e87c8091e63" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The acquisition and integration of Omniex will help simplify the experience for institutional investors looking to go deeper into crypto, the company said</li>
 <li>Gemini announced the acquisition of digital asset portfolio management platform BITRIA last week</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Less than a week after announcing its acquisition of digital asset portfolio management platform BITRIA, crypto exchange <a href="https://www.gemini.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gemini</a> has bought trading technology platform <a href="https://omniex.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Omniex</a>.&nbsp;



Founded in 2017 by former State Street executives, Omniex provides order, execution and portfolio management system solutions for institutional crypto trading.



The acquisition and integration of Omniex into Gemini&#8217;s existing institutional custody, clearing and trading solutions simplifies the experience for institutional investors looking to go deeper into crypto, said Dave Abner, Gemini’s global head of business development.



Specifically, the integration will provide a single point of access to multiple exchanges and OTC liquidity sources, tools and algorithms to ensure trade transparency, and a trading experience with application programming interface (API) connectivity, according to Gemini’s <a href="https://www.gemini.com/blog/gemini-acquires-trading-technology-platform-omniex-launches-gemini-prime" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wednesday announcement.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;



The buy allows Gemini to publicly launch a crypto prime-brokerage offering, <a href="https://www.gemini.com/prime" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gemini Prime</a>, which select clients have been using over the past year. The product’s full rollout is slated for the second quarter.



The Omniex team will be joining Gemini to expand and drive platform capabilities for the prime services division.



Gemini is seeking to build out its institutional business with crypto solutions that resemble offerings within traditional finance, Abner told Blockworks. 



The company announced <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gemini-now-a-one-stop-shop-for-advisors-after-bitria-buy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its purchase of BITRIA</a> last week. That acquisition allows financial advisors to gain exposure beyond the closed-end funds and spot ETFs focused on the largest tokens, Abner previously noted.



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