Coinbase Purchases One River Digital Asset Management

Coinbase acquired One River Digital Asset Management (an investment manager that provides institutional clients with exposure to cryptocurrencies) without disclosing the terms and the sum of the agreement.

The deal comes a few weeks after the two entities rolled out a separately managed account (SMA) platform for wealth management firms.

• Greg Tusar – Coinbase’s head of institutional product – said the recent acquisition aims to “bring more institutional capital” into the cryptocurrency industry since One River Digital Asset Management focuses on such clients and avoids dealing with retail customers.

“We expect to build — on the other side of this crypto winter — an awesome asset-management business,” he added.

• Following the deal, the acquired company will be renamed Coinbase Asset Management, while Eric Peters will continue serving as CEO and CIO. 

“Having a dual role gives me insight into the worlds of digital and traditional assets. I’m betting on the convergence between the two over the next decade,” he stated.

• Peters explained that the negotiations on the deal started nearly a year ago and were dragged on throughout the crypto winter in 2022, which saw a severe market collapse and countless failures. He praised Coinbase, saying it was “a pretty easy decision” to enter into an agreement with it.
• The two organizations launched a new SMA offering, called ONE Digital SMA, nearly two weeks ago, seeking to provide private wealth platforms and registered investment advisors with better crypto exposure and opportunities.
• The move could be considered a breath of fresh air for Coinbase, which was negatively affected by the prolonged bear market and laid off a chunk of its employees last summer. It fired additional 950 people earlier this year.