Tyrone Ross is finally pulling back the curtain on the cryptocurrency-for-advisors fintech company he has been building for nearly a year.
Onramp Invest provides a digital suite of resources to educate RIAs on cryptocurrencies and help them invest clients into Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital assets. The idea is to offer advisors a one-stop shop with compliant access to crypto markets along with resources to keep advisors informed and clients safe.
“Cryptoassets are here to stay,” says Ross, Onramp’s CEO, in a statement. “As a financial advisor, I truly understand an advisor’s challenge when explaining a hot new financial topic to clients. We will give fiduciary advisors peace of mind, which they can then transfer to their clients.”
The startup was launched by ETF-maker Reality Shares, which
Ross formally brought the company out of beta testing this week at
Investors in Onramp’s current round of funding include Gemini Frontier Fund, Eterna Capital and Ritholtz Wealth Management. Onramp did not disclose how much it has raised.
Ritholtz advisors are not recommending their clients invest in cryptocurrencies, nor are they managing clients’ digital assets, but the firm will use Onramp’s technology to pull in data on clients’ existing crypto holdings, Ritholtz CEO Josh Brown tells Financial Planning.
“We want to be able to view their holdings, incorporating the growth and volatility into our planning work,” Brown says.
He adds that advisors at his RIA have a fiduciary responsibility to account for assets held with, or away from, the firm, whether they be real estate, privately held business stakes or cryptocurrency.
“You don’t have to believe in it or be bullish or whatever — you just have to do your job,” Brown says.
Onramp currently has technology integrations with Wealthbox CRM; CF Benchmarks for digital asset market data; and portfolio management software Advyzon to add cryptocurrencies to client portals and performance reports alongside traditional portfolio holdings.
“Advisors don’t just deserve access to digital assets. They deserve access that is seamless and a great experience for both advisor and investor,” said Advyzon chief business development officer John Mackowiak
Onramp will carry a suite of model portfolios from WisdomTree that allocate in crypto as well as equity and fixed-income ETFs. The digital assets are bought, sold and custodied with Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins.
Advisors can use WisdomTree’s +Crypto Model Portfolios to invest clients in cryptocurrency according to their risk tolerance and other diligence considerations, says Will Peck, WisdomTree’s head of strategy and emerging technologies,
Ross also announced a new Onramp Academy in partnership with Galaxy Fund Management, Interaxis and CoinDesk to help educate advisors and their clients about crypto assets.
