Cryptocurrency financial services company Blockchain.com will suspend operations of its asset management subsidiary, according to a Bloomberg note published on March 9. The service was less than a year old and appears to be the latest victim of the cryptocurrency bear market.
The subsidiary, known as Blockchain.com Asset Management, is based in London. On March 5, he applied to be removed from the UK business register. The request itself is dated February 15. The company had not yet submitted its first annual report.
Blockchain.com Asset Management launched in April 2022 in partnership with Altis Partners, which was to manage their portfolios using Blockchain.com technology. It promised to offer “regulated cryptocurrency investment products for institutional investors, family offices and high net worth individuals.”
scoop: @blockchain has suspended its asset management arm, moving to shut down the unit exactly 11 months after it launched. in that time, the firm cut hundreds of jobs and saw its valuation potentially slashed to a fraction of its former $14bn size
on Terminal now, web soon pic.twitter.com/PhaKP0a6mk
— Emily Nicolle (@emilyjnicolle) March 9, 2023
Blockchain.com, founded in 2011, opened the new subsidiary just after a funding round in which it had increased its valuation from $5.2 billion to $14 billion. Standard Custody & Trust Company was named custodial partner of the new subsidiary also in April. A spokesperson told Bloomberg:
“Blockchain.com Asset Management was launched in April 2022, shortly before macroeconomic conditions rapidly deteriorated. As the bear market nears the one-year mark, we have made the business decision to pause this institutional product.”
Blockchain.com did not immediately respond to questions from Cointelegraph.
Blockchain.com witnessed several milestones during the crypto winter. It received registration in multiple countries throughout 2022. It also entered into a custody agreement with Anchorage Bank along with other trading platforms in June, and partnered with Visa to issue a crypto card in the United States in October.
However, according to Bloomberg, the company laid off 260 employees in 2023. In February, rumors surfaced that it was in talks with other crypto companies to sell some of its assets or subsidiaries. A Blockchain.com spokesperson denied these rumors to Cointelegraph.
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