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Coinbase, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, has made the announcement that it has acquired the international operations of storage giant Xapo while at the same time confirming that institutional adoption of cryptocurrency is going strong. 

CEO of Coinbase said in a series of Tweets that the question about when institutional adoption of cryptocurrency will come to fruition has been answered, and it is now. Coinbase, the CEO says, is seeing an influx of between $200 and $400 million a week from institutional entities. 

This is an important statement from Coinbase as many believe that the way for cryptocurrencies to be fully legitimized and utilized is for there to be mass scale cryptocurrency adoption. More so, Armstrong also said that even with this adoption in full swing, it is just one step towards a “CryptoEconomy”.

Getting bigger

Coinbase has always been a major player in the world of cryptocurrency, beyond simply offering exchange services. It has grown into a formidable business, and is constantly looking to push the envelope with regards to the cryptocurrency industry. 

This latest acquisition of Xapo puts Coinbase top of the institutional manager list for crypto with $7 billion of assets under custody. Xapo is a free-of-charge Bitcoin wallet and storage platform. The Xapo wallet is available both online and offline with all transactions conducted without any fees. 

“Xapo has long been a pioneer in the storage of crypto assets, leading the industry in the creation of security techniques that have kept their customers’ cryptocurrency safe since 2014. Xapo was founded with the mission of making Bitcoin more secure and accessible. Coinbase will extend Xapo’s legacy and bring it yet another step closer to achieving its mission,” Coinbase said in a post about the acquisition.

Looking for more institutional investment

Despite the claims that institutional investors are firmly a part of the cryptocurrency space with their deposit on Coinbase as evidence, there is still a lot more money that could come into the economy. However, Armstrong, as one example, believes that there needs to be a few more doors opened. 

In addition to custody, we’re excited to explore new ways to monetize and leverage crypto assets such as staking, borrowing against crypto portfolios and lending crypto to trusted counterparties,” Coinbase hinted.

This is also tied back to a bout of Bitcoin ETF applications that are currently under examination by the SEC, but have been delayed. Yet, despite the delays, there is a lot of positivity around the fact that the SEC is running out of reasons to deny any more with the influx of institutions. 

Bitwise, who have their own application before the SEC, have to now wait until October to hear if it will be successful, but the CEO of the company has little doubt, stating in an interview that the institutional adoption - oh which Coinbase is also speaking of - should make the decision go through.

“A key aspect to a Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. is that it unlocks the financial advisor marketplace. So far, crypto has focused mostly on retail investors – or institutional investors,” he said. “Half the money in the U.S. is managed by financial advisors, and right now, it’s very difficult for them to access that market.”

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