The Coinbase + BlackRock partnership will initially cover trades in bitcoin only.

Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) have agreed to create new access points for institutional crypto adoption by connecting Coinbase Prime and Aladdin, BlackRock’s end-to-end investment management platform. Coinbase Prime is built for institutions and is a full-service platform to provide them access to crypto markets at scale. (Coinbase)

Connecting directly with Coinbase Prime will provide BlackRock’s institutional clients with crypto trading, custody, prime brokerage, and reporting capabilities that are already being offered to Coinbase clients; these include hedge funds, asset allocators, financial institutions, corporate treasuries and other institutions.

“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,” said Joseph Chalom, Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock. “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.”

Coinbase Prime for institutions supports the entire crypto transaction lifecycle including advanced multi-venue agency trade execution for 200 assets, custody for more than 300 assets, prime financing, staking and staking infrastructure, data and analytics, and reporting.

Access is currently available for institutions contracted with both Aladdin and Coinbase.

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