BlackRock has appointed Coinbase to provide access for its institutional clients to cryptoassets via Coinbase Prime.
Through this relationship, BlackRock clients using the asset manager’s Aladdin platform will be able to employ agency trading services, custody, prime brokerage and reporting services through Coinbase’s prime brokerage platform, starting with bitcoin.
Commenting on the appointment, BlackRock global head of strategic ecosystem partnerships Joseph Chalom says: “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.
"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."
The two firms indicate that they will continue to advance platform integration and will roll out functions through a phased release to institutional clients that are contracted to both Aladdin and Coinbase.
Coinbase indicates that its institutional prime brokerage service, Coinbase Prime, integrates agency trading, custody, prime financing, staking and staking infrastructure, data and reporting services across the cryptoasset lifecycle. It combines these services with security, insurance and compliance to provide a full-service platform for institutional clients wishing to access crypoasset markets at scale.
