Posted by Coinbase Global (COIN) shares soared after the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency platform announced a partnership with BlackRock (BLK) to give BlackRock’s institutional clients the ability to add Bitcoin to their portfolios.
Coinbase said the deal connects clients of BlackRock’s Aladdin investment management platform with its own institutional prime broker platform, Coinbase Prime. That will provide them with crypto trading, custody, prime brokerage, and reporting capabilities.
Joseph Chalom, global head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock, explained the firm’s institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining access to digital asset markets, and they want to “efficiently manage the operational lifecycle of those assets.” He added being connected with Coinbase will allow them to manage Bitcoin exposures directly in existing portfolio management and trading workflows.
Expanding Crypto
Coinbase called the agreement an “exciting milestone” in the company’s efforts to provide greater access and transparency to cryptocurrencies. It indicated the two companies will continue working on platform integration, and will roll out functionality to clients in phases.
Coinbase Global’s shares rose 10% (yestarday) and 5% (today), while shares of BlackRock were up 0.8%.
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