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Betterment wants to jump into crypto space

Betterment wants to jump into crypto space
Daniela Kirova
Jun 30, 2021, 18:35 PM
  • Betterment will educate users to mitigate some of the risk from volatility of asset class
  • Betterment’s customer assets increased by $10 billion in Q1/2021
  • Net deposits and new clients grew by 118% resp. 116% in Q1/2021

Digital wealth management and investing platform Betterment is keeping an eye on crypto space with a view of offering digital asset-related investment opportunities to customers, Betterment CEO Sarah Levy said during a Yahoo Finance interview.

Rapid growth, passive investment favored

While acknowledging the volatility of the asset, Levy insisted her company that boats around $30 billion in assets under management could limit offerings to long-term portfolios. It will also educate users on how to mitigate some of the risks stemming from the volatility associated with large swings in the crypto market.

On June 22, Levy stated, according to Yahoo Finance:

This comment was made right before Cathie Wood, Ark Invest Founder, filed to create a bitcoin (BTC/USD) exchange traded fund (ETF) with SEC. Despite relatively conservative company policy, Betterment’s CEO is enthusiastic about cryptocurrency. As crypto tends to run counter to economic cycle fluctuations, it can help the platform’s clients diversify their holdings.

Betterment has been democratizing finance

Betterment considers itself a "pioneer" in the movement to democratize finance for nearly than a decade, the CEO said. Democratizing finance deals with making investing more accessable to the "common investor." But Betterment plays a unique role as it gears towards investors with a long-term focus.

Unlike Robinhood and other popular trading apps, which offer options to buy and sell popular coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH/USD), and Dogecoin (DOGE/USD), crypto is absent on Betterment. Coinbase Global (COIN), the biggest US crypto exchange, was listed publicly in April. Its value was determined at almost $100 billion. The stock price has dropped by almost a quarter since June 29.