Wave Financial acquires Swiss-based Cryptonite Asset Management
Wave Financial LLC (Wave), a US-based regulated digital asset management firm, announced on Thursday that it has acquired a minority stake in FINMA-regulated Swiss-based crypto investment manager Cryptonite Asset Management.
This is the first step in a planned full acquisition, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, subject to regulatory approval, Wave Financial said.
The acquisition follows the strategic partnership between the two firms back in 2021 when Cryptonite launched several Actively Managed Certificates (AMCs) of Wave Financial’s flagship digital asset funds in Europe, including the Wave Bitcoin Income and Growth and NFT funds.
By buying Cryptonite, Wave said it will be able to take advantage of the growing demand for regulated digital investment fund products in Europe.
Matteo Dante Perruccio, President International at Wave Financial, spoke about the development: “We have seen unprecedented demand from institutional and other accredited investors for professionally managed digital asset funds in Europe. There seems to be a flight to quality taking place, so it It makes sense to take our relationship with Cryptonite to the next level.
This acquisition is Wave Financial’s first outside of the US, but will not be our last as we actively seek other partners to bring our diverse set of digital asset funds and solutions to accredited investors worldwide.”
Asset managers are betting on crypto
Major money management firms are moving into digital assets, finding new ways to cash in on investor interest despite the decline in trading volume and prices for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Wave Financial has become the latest investment house to take the plunge by buying a stake in regulated Swiss-based crypto investment manager Cryptonite Asset Management.
In early August, Abrdn, a global investment asset management firm, acquired a stake in regulated British digital asset exchange Archax. The stake enabled the £508bn fund manager to stake its claim on the Archax digital asset exchange for institutional investors.
Abrdn’s investment came as BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, launched a spot Bitcoin trust for institutional investors through a partnership with Coinbase crypto exchange. The move allowed BlackRock’s 82,000 investment professionals to access Bitcoin trading.
In July, Charles Schwab, the American brokerage and investment group, launched an exchange-traded fund that aims to give investors exposure to cryptocurrency without actually buying the currencies.
Large asset managers are beginning to consider digital assets as real investments. Traditional asset management companies are embracing what has been ridiculed for years.
The new digital offerings come after cryptocurrencies underwent a brutal market crash that cut digital assets’ total market capitalization from around $3.2 trillion in November to less than $1 trillion.
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