Blockchain.com Suspends Asset Management Services
- Blockchain.com has announced that it will shut down its asset management service just a few months after its opening.
- The crypto exchange filed for the removal of the asset management arm from the UK register on March 5, while the application is dated Feb 15.
- The subsidiary has yet to file any annual accounts and was formed in partnership with Altis Partners in April 2022.
- The crypto firm had an exposure of $270 million to the now-bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC.
Popular crypto exchanges have been liquidating their subsidiaries to make room for additional services and improve their functional capabilities. This seems to be the correct move for many companies as the crypto winter continues to dominate market price action and trading volumes remain low. It is crucial to note that one of the oldest crypto firms, Blockchain.com, has announced that it will shut down its asset management service just a few months after opening it.
As per a filing with Companies House, the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the register of companies, Blockchain.com wants to strike the asset management subsidiary off the UK register and also, dissolve the subsidiary since it is not providing the revenue that the crypto exchange had previously expected.
Interestingly, Blockchain.com will be shutting down its asset management subsidiary, BCAM, as first revealed by Bloomberg. In a statement emailed to the media outlet, a spokesperson from the crypto firm confirmed the company’s decision.
“Blockchain.com Asset Management launched in April 2022, shortly before macroeconomic conditions deteriorated rapidly. With crypto winter now approaching the one year mark, we made the business decision to pause operating this institutional product,” a spokesperson said in an email.
The application for removal is dated Feb 15, while Blockchain.com applied for the removal of the subsidiary on March 5. The subsidiary has yet to file any annual accounts and was formed in partnership with Altis Partners in April 2022. Atlis was responsible for the management of the portfolios using the technology provided by the crypto firm.
The two partner firms promised to offer “regulated crypto investment products for institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.” Prominent crypto blogger Emily Nicolle also noted the event, adding that BCAM was closed just 11 months after launch. She also noted that during the time when BCAM was formed, Blockchain.com had laid off hundreds of employees and seen its valuation reduced to a fraction of what it was during the 2021 bull market (almost $14 billion).
It was confirmed in the April announcement that Blockchain.com’s Charlie McGarraugh will lead the platform through Altis, serving as its Chief Investment Officer, while maintaining his current role at the crypto firm. Altis’ Founding Principals Stephen Hedgecock and Alex Brunwin, were also responsible for leading BCAM.
“BCAM combines the very best of old world financial markets with the new world of crypto. The advent of distributed ledger technologies and crypto assets has the potential to change the structure of global capital markets while presenting new opportunities for investors,” said Blockchain.com at the time of the announcement.
As reported earlier by BitcoinWisdom, Blockchain.com was greenlit to operate in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in October 2022 and is capable of providing its services to the citizens of the city-state. The crypto firm was also approved by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA, to establish a presence in the region.
It is also crucial to note that the crypto firm had exposure to the now-bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC. The company lent close to $270 million to the hedge fund, which was ordered to be liquidated by a British Virgin Islands court. Additionally, the crypto exchange partnered with Visa, a multinational financial services corporation based in San Francisco, to offer debit cards to users in the US.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
