by Betterment, a robo-advisor platform that manages over $33 billion in assets, has finally launched its crypto offering after completing a private beta phase. The fintech acquired Makara, a crypto asset management startup, in February and has been working on turning Makara into its own crypto product since the deal closed.
Crypto for Betterment, as the new offering is called, debuts to Betterment’s 730,000+ customers today with four themed, customizable portfolios that will allow users to invest in a select selection of digital assets, the company’s VP of crypto told TechCrunch , Jesse Proudman. interview.
According to Proudman, the four portfolios launched today include around 25 different cryptocurrencies each and are categorized as follows:
- “Universewhich is supposed to offer broad exposure to the entire cryptocurrency landscape and includes coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Chainlink and Filecoin
- “Viablewhich focuses on green blockchains including Ethereum, which recently converted to a proof-of-stake (PoS) transaction verification mechanism, and other PoS chains such as Solana and Tezos
- “Metaverseconsisting of elements related to immersive online experiences such as games and digital commerce, such as tokens used in Decentraland and Sandbox
- “Decentralized Economicswhich contains tokens native to DeFi protocols including Aave, Uniswap and Compound
Proudman noted that the offering will include a feature that instructs users to limit their cryptocurrency exposure to 5% of their investable assets as a safety net.
“A fairly significant number of our customers are either interested or have already invested [in crypto], but they feel pressured by the do-it-yourself nature, particularly when you combine that with the speed of change happening in this asset class. So they provided feedback that this kind of managed, curated offering was of interest to them,” Proudman said.
Makara, which is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, launched with 20,000 customers and $1 million in assets under management last June, according to Decrypt.
Betterment announced last month that it would partner with crypto exchange Gemini, led by the Winklevoss twins, to develop crypto portfolios and act as a custodian for the assets. The company’s last publicly known fundraising was a $160 million round announced in September of last year, which it raised at a $1.3 billion valuation.
The company has been relatively slow compared to other investment platforms like Robinhood and Acorns to add crypto to its suite, perhaps in part because it wants to focus on messaging about the importance of long-term investing, especially as crypto markets continue to prove unstable. Betterment’s launch comes just a week after investment app Stash announced its own crypto offering, informed by a long-term anti-trading ethos that contrasts with the short-term trading mentality often associated with the rise of Robinhood.
