BREAKING: $512-billion asset manager to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum to wealthy clients

As the push for institutional adoption cryptocurrencies increases, Apollo Global Management Inc, a global private equity firm, has started holding cryptocurrencies for its clients.

A press release from Monday stated that crypto services will be offered by the New York-based company through a partnership with Anchorage Digital. Anchorage Digital is the first federally chartered cryptocurrency bank in the U.S.

Anchorage Digital is happy to announce thatApollo, NYSE: APO, has selected Anchorage Digital to be a qualified custodian for crypto assets. Anchorage will custody a large portion of the digital asset portfolio of an alternative asset manager. The release can be viewed.

Apollo was founded in 1990 and has $512 billion under management. In April 2018, Apollo announced a $50-100 million investment in Web3 and blockchain. Christine Moy, a former executive at JPMorgan, was appointed as the first head of digital assets strategy. She will be responsible for exploring new ways to use blockchain technology in the company’s business.

This announcement is made against the backdrop of a global plunge in crypto markets with Bitcoin, the largest crypto asset worldwide, losing as much as 70% from its all-time high of $68,789.63 last Nov.

Despite the turmoil in crypto-related markets and the potential benefits it will offer in the future, institutional investors are still interested in this new sector. A report from Fidelity digital Assets shows that around 74% of institutional investors in Europe and the US plan to purchase digital assets in the near future.

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“It’s the validation that [crypto]is still here to stay,” said Diogo Monica (president of Anchorage Digital). “This is a very long term horizon process and technology and that for large institutions, it doesn’t really matter that volatility is short-term.” ‘

Monica stated that the partnership between Apollo & Anchorage could’set the standard for how institutions work together with regulated digital assets banks like Anchorage in order to provide custody services for their crypto holdings’.

It is not clear what type of crypto assets Apollo will custody. However, Apollo has indicated previously that it is looking beyond Bitcoin to real-world applications like asset custody, securitizations and marketplaces. It could also be considering holding cryptocurrencies and Non Fungible Tokens, NFTs, as well as other digital assets.