Gemini Acquires Crypto Asset Management Platform Bitria; Terms Undisclosed

Crypto exchange Gemini has acquired digital asset management startup Bitria to expand its offerings for financial advisers less than two months after raising $400 million in a funding round. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The integration of Bitria’s technology for managing digital holdings with Gemini's custody and exchange capabilities will give asset managers access to the broader crypto ecosystem and the ability to manage their clients' portfolios from a single interface, according to a statement Thursday. They will also gain features such as portfolio rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting.

Gemini, which had trading volume of $150 million in the past 24 hours compared with about $15 billion for its largest peer Binance, is looking to expand by strengthening its offerings for professional investors as interest in the field grows. According to a survey of 529 financial advisers for the Journal of Financial Planningand the Financial Planning Association published in June, 26% of advisers planned to increase their recommendation of cryptocurrencies over the next 12 months. In addition, 49 percent said their clients had asked them about investing in cryptocurrencies in the previous six months, up from 17 percent the year before.

"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," Dave Abner, Gemini’s global head of business development, said in the statement.

In December, 3iQ Digital Assets, Gemini, and Bitria teamed up to offer investors a new digital asset separately managed account (SMA) platform.

Read more: Crypto Exchange Gemini Trust Has $7B Valuation After $400M Funding Round

UPDATE (Jan. 13, 16:55 UTC): Adds financial adviser survey report in third paragraph.