Financial juggernaut BlackRock is partnering with Coinbase to further crypto adoption among its institutional clientele.
The partnership will integrate Coinbase’s Pro exchange into BlackRock’s Aladdin investment management system, allowing institutions to buy Bitcoin alongside stocks and equities. Coinbase announced the partnership on Thursday, sending its stock $COIN soaring 19%.
“Our institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining exposure to digital asset markets and are focused on how to efficiently manage the operational lifecycle of these assets,” said Joseph Chalom, Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock. “This connectivity with Aladdin will allow clients to manage their bitcoin exposures directly in their existing portfolio management and trading workflows for a whole portfolio view of risk across asset classes.”
“Our scale, experience and integrated product offering represented what BlackRock believes to be a logical partner for Aladdin,” echoed Brett Tejpaul, Head of Coinbase Institutional, in the press release.
The announcement follows a string of regulatory headaches for Coinbase, including the SEC describing cryptocurrencies on its platform as securities following the arrest of a former employee accused of insider trading. In addition to BlackRock, Coinbase has struck similar partnerships with leading organizations, including the World Economic Forum—though this association was later struck from their website.
