The wait for institutional investors to arrive in the crypto space ended a little while ago, according to recent statements made by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who currently heads one of the largest crypto exchanges in the US.
Armstrong revealed in a tweet on Friday that Coinbase’s custody unit receives at least $200-400 million deposits per week from institutional investors. According to him, the argument that regarding whether or not institutional investors can fully adopt cryptocurrencies should be put to rest.
“Whether institutions were going to adopt crypto or not was an open question about 12 months ago. I think it’s safe to say we now know the answer. We’re seeing $200-400M a week in new crypto deposits coming in from institutional customers,” Armstrong tweeted.
Interestingly, the latest confirmation by the CEO comes after his firm announced the acquisition of rival institutional custody business, Xapo. The fact that Coinbase slashed as high as $55 million for the acquisition arguably backs Armstrong’s comments that institutions are now investing in cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, adding Xapo to their ranks means Coinbase is now on top of the food chain for institutional investors seeking a reliable crypto custodian to store their assets. It also raised the exchange’s custody value to $7 billion in Assets Under Custody (AUC) for more than 120 clients in 14 countries.
“Coinbase Custody is now the #1 crypto custodian for institutions! […] Excited to carry on the torch with Xapo’s institutional business, one of the great early crypto companies,” the CEO added.
Armstrong further stated that the move would bring the exchange closer to building the crypto economy.
Bitcoin’s wane during the week did not stop Armstrong from being optimistic about Bitcoin’s future, as numerous new institutional investment products hit the market, including Bitcoin Futures offerings.
Even though the exchange is currently focused on keeping clients’ assets safe, Coinbase has hinted that it is now exploring new ways to leverage cryptos in staking, lending to trusted parties and others while integrating all of these with its custody service.
Despite UK Barclays bank cutting ties with Coinbase, the exchange is still not deterred from making groundbreaking moves toward fostering global crypto adoption.
