Gemini Acquires BITRIA to Move Into Wealth Management

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is hoping to duplicate the $7.1 billion success it’s achieved in the digital realm with a move into wealth management through the acquisition of financial advisor-geared digital asset platform BITRIA, according to a CNBC report Thursday (Jan. 13).

BITRIA helps advisors manage bitcoin and other digital tokens, according to Dave Abner, Gemini’s global head of business development. The acquisition creates a full-service digital asset custodian for advisors, he said, declining to disclose how much Gemini paid in the deal.

Gemini will pair its crypto custody and exchange capabilities with BITRIA’s portfolio management programs, allowing advisors to enable tax-loss harvesting and other tools, Abner told CNBC.

“Advisors manage the biggest pool of money in the country right now, and they’re hearing from their clients that want access to crypto,” he said this week in a phone interview with CNBC. “This creates a one-stop, end-to-end experience for advisors to manage all of their clients’ digital assets within their traditional portfolio management systems.

“Nobody else in the crypto space is looking at servicing the wealth management community the way that Gemini is. We’re already the largest service provider to crypto ETFs [exchange-traded funds] globally. Now we are moving into the wealth space, and we’re going to be the only pure-play full-service provider of crypto assets.”

BITRIA’s employees, including co-founder and CEO Daniel Eyre, are joining Gemini as part of the acquisition.

Related: Crypto Empire Gemini Will Use $400M to Build Metaverse

In November, Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss said they plan to use the $400 million they raised through an investment round to build a metaverse for the platform.

Entrepreneur.com reported at the time that the metaverse could represent an $800 billion market by 2024, as companies are exploring numerous ways to make real money hawking goods in a virtual economy through the metaverse.

In the “2022: A World Transformed” report, app analytics platform App Annie said: “Play-to-earn models — games that allow players to monetize in an open economy — combined with metaverses which emphasize players’ self-expression will be the biggest drivers of mobile gaming innovation in 2022.”