Improvement partners with Gemini to offer crypto portfolios
Investment robo-advisor Betterment has partnered with crypto exchange Gemini to launch a crypto investment portfolio service for its clients. Starting in October 2022, Betterment’s 730,000 customers will have access to the Gemini feature on the platform.
Important takeaways
- Betterment has partnered with Gemini to offer clients customized crypto investment plans based on risk profiles and interests.
- Betterment said it hopes to foster a desire among clients for long-term investment in cryptocurrencies, with the assets coming from those listed on Gemini’s crypto exchange.
- The Betterment-Gemini deal is one of many similar moves by established financial services companies, demonstrating continued interest in crypto despite the general bear market.
Betterment adds custom crypto portfolios through the Gemini deal
The partnership between Betterment and Gemini will give Betterment’s 730,000 clients access to customized crypto investment plans based on their risk profiles and interests, starting in October 2022. The digital assets will come from Gemini’s platform. The exchange has a relatively strict process for listing tokens.
Betterment officials have said the option is intended to promote a long-term focus when it comes to crypto investing, as “the burden of asset selection and the management of those assets” is removed from clients. The company’s idea is to give customers easy access to crypto investments, with less of the risk associated with crypto.
Betterment is a robo-advisor that offers users several products to help with their investing. One of the platform’s key features is the personalization of investments. To make this possible for its clients’ crypto investments, Betterment acquired crypto robo-advisor startup Makara in February 2022.
The partnership is also another move by Gemini which focuses on working with established financial firms. The exchange, which is known to be very concerned about compliance, has launched a crypto reward card in collaboration with Mastercard and has also partnered with Australian fund manager Holon Global Investments.
Fidelity and others are also diving deeper into crypto despite the winter
The partnership between Gemini and Betterment is just one of many that shows that mainstream legacy institutions have a strong interest in the crypto market. One of the most notable entities in this regard is Fidelity, which announced earlier this year that it would allow investors to diversify their 401(k) accounts with Bitcoin. The Digital Assets Account, as it’s called, gives businesses access to Bitcoin – and MicroStrategy has already jumped on board.
Meanwhile, Société Générale also offers custody services through a partnership with Arquant Capital. This allows fund managers to offer crypto within the European regulations and is a step up for the fourth largest banking group in Europe.
Institutional investors appear to be the main target for devices, with Nasdaq also set to launch institutional Bitcoin and crypto custody services. This is a significant step forward for Nasdaq, although the move still requires regulatory approval. As for retail investors, Fidelity is reportedly considering offering Bitcoin to this group.
The bottom line
The cryptocurrency market has come under fire in recent months for its volatility, but recent deals indicate that some established financial services firms are undeterred at all. Analysts expect the market to go up from here, with bitcoin more or less holding on to its current support levels. With more regulations coming in, and generally better infrastructure, institutions can view the crypto market with optimism.
