Crypto platform Gemini is buying separately managed account and digital turnkey asset management platform BITRIA, a development first reported by CNBC. The acquisition expands Gemini’s wealth management-focused crypto capabilities, as well as putting the firm in competition with its own partners, Onramp Invest and Eaglebrook Advisors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but all BITRIA employees will be moving to Gemini.
Following the acquisition, Gemini will have the ability to build and maintain separately managed crypto accounts, perform portfolio rebalancing and tax loss harvesting on those accounts, engage in billing and fee collection and provide its users with connectivity to more than 70 cryptocurrencies on its platform, according to the announcement.
“The BITRIA acquisition positions Gemini as the first end-to-end technology platform empowering wealth and asset managers to meet rising demand among their clients for accessing and managing a full range of crypto investments,” said Dave Abner, global head of business development at Gemini, in a statement.
To be sure, many of BITRIA’s capabilities are already available among its competitors. Both Onramp and Eaglebrook provide data connectivity, trading and portfolio management to advisors—as well as partnerships with Gemini. Eaglebrook has its own onboarding capabilities and tax loss harvesting.
Since last year, Dynasty Financial Partners and Mariner Wealth Advisors have both use Eaglebrook to provide crypto separately managed accounts to advisors and their clients.
But the popularity and demand for such services isn’t entirely clear. Dynasty confirmed it had more than 40 advisors on Eaglebrook but declined to state how much in crypto assets were being managed on the platform; Mariner declined to provide how many of its advisors utilize the platform and how much in assets those advisors have on it.
Gemini began working with BITRIA, then called Blockchange, in August 2020, when the duo announced an RIA-focused “secure one-stop-shop for buying, selling and storing digital assets.”
At the time of the announcement, Quantum Capital Management, with more than $125 million in AUM, was introduced as the initial RIA client. Quantum Capital Management was eventually purchased by Los Angeles-based Lido Advisors. Lido manages $7.7 billion in assets but did not immediately confirm if its advisors still use BITRIA.
BITRIA, which was founded in 2017, declined to state how many advisors use its platform.
“The future of wealth management lies in digital assets and blockchain technology,” said Daniel Eyre, co-founder and CEO of BITRIA, in a statement. “The integration of BITRIA’s technology with Gemini provides a bridge to that future.”
