Blockchain.com's Best-In-Class Institutional Offering

Introduction

Blockchain.com was originally founded in 2011 and has since grown to be one of the largest names in crypto with users from over 200 countries, 90 million users of their wallet product and over $1.5T transacted on the exchange. After taking over the retail market, Blockchain.com opened its doors to institutional investors in 2017 to offer best-in-class pricing and bespoke solutions to funds, institutions and high-net-worth clients. Fast forward to today, and Blockchain.com Institutional has facilitated billions in trades for over 2,000 clients around the world.

Management

Peter Smith, one of the three original founders of Blockchain.com, remains operating as its CEO today along with fellow co-founder Nicolas Cary, both of whom sit on the board. Other members of the board include former American Airlines CEO Tim Horton, Former Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting, and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina. In its 13 years of operation, Blockchain.com has raised over $500M in equity funding from a number of institutions, capital which has cemented Blockchain.com’s position as a leading exchange, OTC desk, and market maker given the capital requirements of all these verticals.

Peter Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Blockchain.com

Blockchain’s long history and strong executive team have positioned it to be one of the only crypto platforms that is licensed and/or regulated in all 50 states in the US – given the current regulatory climate this is not something to be taken lightly. They are actively working to further their licenses in the EU and Asia, already having attained licensing in Singapore, Lithuania and the Cayman Islands.

OTC Trading

The largest component of the institutional business is Blockchain.com’s OTC trading arm, which offers best-in-class pricing on client trades in an efficient and discreet manner. Given Blockchain.com’s history and capital backing, in this low-liquidity market environment they’re very well positioned to seize market share and are one of the few desks that remains from last cycle. In fact, this business segment is rapidly growing, with a 2.8x increase in OTC volumes compared to a year ago, according to their Q2 report.

Key Features

Source: Blockchain.com

Over 800 alt coins are supported through Blockchain.com’s OTC Spot desk, offering same day settlement in fiat and crypto, proprietary trading algorithms, 24/7 market access, and discreet service. Whether you’re a fund, project or individual, if you’ve been looking for a high-liquidity desk that has been battle-tested through the years, Blockchain.com’s OTC option might be the place for you. It’s also licensed and regulated, which in this day and age where the SEC is handing out Wells Notices like pieces of candy is very important for investors.

Liquidity is especially important in this market with a significant reduction in liquidity providers versus last cycle, leaving many individuals and funds with bags of illiquid tokens that would cause massive market impact if they sold straight up. However, they can route their trades through Blockchain.com, who will then handle the exit via their team of experts to minimize the impact and slippage of the trade to ensure you get the most out of your tokens.

They also offer an OTC Options arm for funds and high-net-worth individuals who are more active in the derivatives market. Similar to the Spot desk, if you are an OTC Options client you can expect best-in-class spreads and to work with industry professionals to help you access the market at any time, any day of the week.

Liquidity Provisioning

Another significant and more recent addition to the Blockchain.com product offering is liquidity provisioning, which allows project teams to engage Blockchain.com as a market maker for their token. Similar to OTC desks, the market maker space has shrunk massively from last cycle and Blockchain.com is a great option to help fill that gap. While their client list is not publicly available, they have worked with everything from Layer 1 blockchains to web3 games to RWA protocols to provide deep liquidity for their respective tokens. At times of low liquidity, having a good market maker is paramount to your token’s success.

Key Features

Source: Blockchain.com

Market making clients can benefit from a few different things on top of the expert liquidity provision, such as listing on the Blockchain.com platform and marketing to their 40 million+ verified users of the wallet. They can also offer bonus pools for volume and deposits of your token to help incentivize activity. If you have a token or are launching one soon and you need a market maker, you can get in contact with the Blockchain.com team here!

Custody and Security

Having been around for over 13 years now, Blockchain.com has seen a thing or two when it comes to the custody of digital assets. For their institutional partners, they offer best-in-class security for holding and staking tokens. Utilizing a proprietary cold storage system, Blockchain.com’s custody is extremely secure. In addition, they offer optimized staking solutions for funds and users who want to gain extra yield from their tokens while they hold them. Staking can be complicated and cumbersome so having access to the best yields from a comfortable and secure site is a great feature.

Conclusion

Blockchain.com, in addition to its robust offering for the retail market, has one of the strongest institutional arms out there. They are a one-stop shop for foundations and token issuers seeking liquidity, OTC and distribution. They are also a perfect choice for investors and traders looking for tight spreads on trades and help with custody of their assets. Their duration in the market gives them a Lindy effect and as one of the most recognizable names in crypto it’s expected their business will only keep growing. If you’re interested in any of the services outlined in this article, you can get in touch with the Blockchain.com Institutional team here.