Coinbase (COIN) has announced a new partnership with BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, to provide cryptocurrency services to institutional investors.
News of the partnership sent Coinbase stock up 10%. Under terms of the agreement, Coinbase
will provide BlackRock’s clients with access to cryptocurrency trading, brokerage services, and reporting capabilities.
BlackRock's clients will also have access to security, insurance, and compliance products as part of the services offered from Coinbase.
Coinbase, which is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, already services thousands of institutional clients, including hedge funds, financial institutions, and corporations.
The partnership comes at a time when digital currency prices are slumping and a wave of bankruptcies have hit the cryptocurrency sector. The price of Bitcoin has fallen 51% since peaking at $68,000 U.S. last November.
BlackRock is the world's biggest asset manager with more than $10 trillion U.S. of assets under management.
Coinbase stock is down 65% this year at $88.90 U.S. per share. BlackRock stock has fallen 24% year-to-date to trade at $696.01 U.S. a share.
