Coinbase Buys into Asset Management
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: March 6, 2023
Crypto exchange Coinbase has entered into a deal with asset management firm One River Asset Management to acquire the latter’s digital asset management arm, which will be rebranded Coinbase Asset Management. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The firm says that SEC-registered investment adviser One River Digital Asset Management (Ordam) will operate as an independent business and wholly-owned subsidiary of Coinbase. It will offer investment advisory services to a range of new and existing institutional clients. “The acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to unlock further opportunities for institutions to participate in the cryptoeconomy,” Coinbase says in a statement.
The two firms have a history of partnership, with Coinbase saying Ordam uses Coinbase Prime to deliver investment solutions to institutions and the firms have partnered to build digital asset management infrastructure such as One Digital SMA, a suite of digital investment strategies and indexes in a separately managed account (SMA) platform. Coinbase Ventures was also an early investor in Ordam.
Eric Peters will continue to serve as the CEO/CIO of the rebranded Coinbase Asset Management as well as the CEO/CIO of One River Asset Management, an unaffiliated and independent business. He founded One River Asset Management in 2013.
Coinbase stresses that Ordam will continue to operate as an independent entity under Coinbase, segregated from its trading and exchange businesses, with “minimal disruption to current business activities and standard controls implemented among well-regulated and diversified financial institutions”.