$10 Trillion BlackRock Partners With Coinbase to Offer Bitcoin Trading to Institutional Clients ⋆ ZyCrypto

Once regarded as a pointless plaything for nerds, Bitcoin has come a long way on its journey to attain widespread adoption. The rate at which the firstborn crypto has grown over the years has captured the interest of institutional and retail investors alike.

In the latest of its milestones, Bitcoin (BTC) is set to be offered to institutional investors of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, in the firm’s partnership with America’s largest exchange, Coinbase.

Users of Aladdin can now utilise Coinbase Prime for BTC trading

In an official blog post on Thursday, Coinbase disclosed that it had been selected by asset management giant BlackRock to assist in the firm’s goal to offer crypto trading to its numerous institutional clients through the Aladdin system.

To ensure the possibility and seamlessness of the trading experience, BlackRock’s very own end-to-end investment management system, Aladdin will be connected to Coinbase’s institution-targeted platform, Coinbase Prime.

This will give users of both Aladdin and Coinbase Prime access to services provided by both platforms, including but not limited to custody, crypto trading and prime brokerage. BlackRock noted that the partnership will give access to only Bitcoin (BTC) for now, and the rate of adoption will determine the inclusion of other digital assets in the future.

Speaking on the partnership, Joseph Chalom, global head of strategic ecosystem partnerships at BlackRock, said, “our institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining exposure to digital-asset markets and are focused on how to efficiently manage the operational life cycle of these assets.”

As recorded in January, BlackRock’s AUM total $10 trillion

The news of this partnership comes barely four months after CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, noted that the asset manager was considering the possibility of offering digital assets to its sizeable institutional user base due to increasingly growing demand. 

Interest in virtual assets has surged astronomically, considering that Fink mentioned last year that demand for crypto assets was relatively low, speaking in a CNBC Squawk Box interview on July 14, last year. “We see very little demand for these types of things,” he said.

Having begun in 1988 in New York, BlackRock has grown over the years to become the most significant asset management firm, with assets under management (AUM) totalling a whopping $10 trillion, as reported in January. With notable institutions utilising the services of BlackRock, this new partnership is likely to influence a further surge in institutional adoption of BTC.