Trading starts today on the Onramp Invest crypto-asset integration platform for financial advisors, the company said Wednesday.
Financial advisors can now open accounts and trade Bitcoin and Ethereum on behalf of their clients courtesy of Onramp's partnership with Gemini, Onramp Invest CEO Tyrone Ross said during an "Onramp Invest State of the Union" online presentation.
Onramp selected Bitcoin and Ethereum first because those are the two biggest "brand" names in the still-nascent crypto market and have the "most credible investment thesis," which, therefore, offers the "most clarity from" the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators, he explained.
Onramp is open to offering more than two options but "will be very thoughtful about what we add … based on demand," he said.
"We are working on billing right now," he also said, noting one thing advisors keep asking about is how they bill when it comes to crypto investing. But he conceded: "Advisors are going to have to get creative here" for now because that is "one of those things that have just been left to the wayside."
The retail component of the Onramp platform, however, won't be active for a while, he told viewers. Many RIAs, including large RIAs, are remaining on the sidelines and it is "our responsibility to get them in thoughtfully," he said, adding that when that happens, the retail component will follow.
Ongoing challenges, including the SEC postponing a decision on approval of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, continue to cause hesitation among advisors, RIA firm executives and industry experts told ThinkAdvisor.
New Retirement Fintech Platform Launches
ProNvest launched Future Capital, a fintech platform that the retirement planning and investment management service said Wednesday was "designed to unlock access to defined contribution assets for key partners, including advisors, banks, broker-dealers, credit unions and insurance companies."
Future Capital represents a "natural evolution of ProNvest's offering, representing a move towards non-integrated account management," it said.
The platform offers a unique suite of tools, providing financial professionals with the ability to offer investment management services to their clients, while eliminating the need for partners to have a recordkeeper integration or plan sponsor relationships to do so, the company explained.
