US-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase has acquired One River Digital Asset Management (ORDAM), an SEC-registered investment adviser and institutional digital asset manager.
ORDAM, a subsidiary of One River Asset Management, provides institutional clients with digital assets through hearty investment products.
The acquisition builds on the previous partnership between the two companies, where ORDAM used Coinbase Prime to deliver differentiated investment solutions to institutions.
Also, the two companies jointly built several digital asset management products, and Coinbase Ventures was an early investor in ORDAM.
ORDAM will operate as an independent business and a fully-owned subsidiary of Coinbase under the new brand name, Coinbase Asset Management (CBAM).
CBAM will provide investment advisory services to new and existing institutional clients.
The acquisition involves the transfer of ORDAM’s team to Coinbase. ORDAM CEO/CIO Eric Peters will continue in the same position at CBAM, and ORAM.
Coinbase, in a statement, said: “We welcome top talent at Coinbase, and the One River Digital Asset Management team represents the best expertise in their field.
“We look forward to working with them in building our asset management business and providing industry-leading products and services to the institutions we support.”
Coinbase has more than $130bn of quarterly institutional trading volume and above $50bn of institutional assets on the platform and operates in the institutional digital asset market.
The company enables global institutions, including asset managers, corporations, financial institutions, and other market participants securely access digital assets and Web3.
Coinbase claims that about 25% of the world’s 100 largest hedge funds, based on reported assets under management, have selected its onboarding platform as of Q4 2022.
The acquisition is in with its long-term strategy to unlock further opportunities for institutions to participate in the crypto-economy, said the cryptocurrency exchange.
Earlier this year, Coinbase reached a $100m settlement with New York’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to resolve shortcomings in its historical compliance programme.
The regulator’s investigation identified wide-ranging and long-standing failures in Coinbase’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) programme between 2018 and 2021.