Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced today the acquisition of One River Digital Asset Management (ORDAM), an American-based financial company, to increase the institutional adoption of the emerging economy.
The digital asset manager registered under the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment adviser was carved out of One River Asset Management to focus on crypto. The company was founded and managed by the macro trader Eric Peters.
ORDAM became the largest corporate Bitcoin (BTC) holder in 2012 before it was later overthrown by the business intelligence company MicroStrategy, which currently holds the position with up to 132,500 BTC.
Coinbase Plans for One River Digital
In a blog post dated March 2, 2023, Coinbase said the acquisition marks the company’s transition to Coinbase Asset Management. The exchange plans to offer investment and advisory solutions to old and new corporate customers through the purchase.
The American-based digital asset service provider said ORDAM would leverage Coinbase Prime to deliver differentiated investment solutions to sophisticated institutions,” noting that the two firms are collaborating to build “innovative digital asset management infrastructure such as ONE Digital SMA.
The investment solution will provide a broad range of digital strategies and indexes in an easy-to-use separately managed account (SMA) platform powered by Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Custody, a New York DFS-qualified custodian. Coinbase Ventures was also an early investor in ORDAM.
ORDAM to Become an Independent Entity
Coinbase also disclosed that ORDAM would operate as an independent subsidiary of the crypto trading platform, separate from all its trading activities.
The newly acquired firm will also maintain its chief executive officer, Peters, who will oversee its business operations while continuing to serve as CEO and CIO at One River Digital.
Coinbase said the acquisition aligns with its goals of providing more opportunities to companies that engage with the industry.
The exchange said that both companies share similar objectives and goals in pursuing opportunities in the emerging economy.
“Coinbase and ORDAM share an ethos grounded in prudent risk management, a trait which has enabled both firms to navigate the recent market turmoil successfully. Culturally, our two organizations are strongly aligned on pursuing opportunities in digital assets with an uncompromising priority on safety and soundness,” Coinbase said.
Institutional Crypto Holdings Reaches New Milestone
As one of the major key players in the industry, Coinbase generates more than $130 billion quarterly from institutional trading volume. The company said it currently has over $50 billion of assets belonging to corporate investors in the platform.
A new Coinfomania report shows that institutional investors are still betting big on crypto despite recent events in the industry.
Corporate crypto holdings reached a new milestone of $28.3 billion for the first time in nine months.
