Tyrone Ross leaves advisor crypto platform Onramp in sudden exit

One of the leading advocates for financial advisors learning about and recommending cryptocurrency has resigned from the startup firm he co-founded to help lead that movement.

In a surprise Medium post on March 1 announcing his resignation as CEO of cryptocurrency startup Onramp Invest, Tyrone Ross said he is “eternally grateful” for 19 months that “were a trial by fire that has pressured and molded me into a better man and leader.” Board member Dani Fava left Onramp as well after Ross’ exit. Co-founder Eric Ervin has taken over as CEO of the firm, effective immediately, he said in a message Onramp sent to investors.

“When I asked Tyrone to join me as a co-founder to build Onramp, we agreed that in order to build quickly and scale, we should each focus on our strengths,” Ervin said in the message, which was obtained by Financial Planning. “He focused primarily on raising capital, building the brand and attracting talent, while I focused on the day-to-day operations, product development and building the business. What we achieved in such a short amount of time is remarkable.”

“However, we are now at a crossroads,” the email continued. “The small company we started just 19 months ago has grown significantly, and we now realize the stresses that dual leadership places on the company. As we enter this next phase of growth, Tyrone has passed the baton, and I have assumed the role of CEO.”

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Reached via email, Ross and representatives for Onramp declined to discuss any details of his departure beyond what was available in the statements.

Fava, Envestnet’s head of strategic development, said in a statement about her leaving Onramp that she’s “not aligned with their strategy moving forward.” In her own post on Twitter, she had described it as a “personal decision to step down” after Ross resigned from the firm. The company had hired her to its board in January 2021.

The exits represent a new twist as advisors engage with the rising popularity of cryptocurrency investing at their own speed. Many remain skeptical of the advantages, and regulators such as FINRA have indicated that they plan to issue new guidance or even additional rules governing recommendations of crypto assets. Onramp, which defines itself as an “integration platform as a service (iPaaS)” company, tapped Ross to lead the firm after previous tenures with Altruist,Eaglebrook Advisors, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. He’s also a former Olympic track and field athlete.

Ross and the team he created have helped more advisors gain familiarity with digital assets and the underlying technology since his August 2020 appointment as CEO. As one of the most influential wealth management professionals in the Twitter community known as “FinTwit” and a member of FP’s “20 people who will change wealth management in 2020,” Ross has argued forcefully for advisors to consider the uses of crypto assets like Bitcoin in client portfolios and the potential for the tech to expand access to financial services among the unbanked and other historically excluded groups.

“I don't care about price,” Ross said last year in an interview with FP about the rising and falling values of Bitcoin. “You know what I care about? The millions of people in this country, the billions around the world, that are now closer to financial access because of Bitcoin.”

Tyrone Ross

In his message to investors, Ross said he will be taking time to “decompress and assess new opportunities” but isn’t by any means giving up on cryptocurrency or on his trust in Onramp as compared to a growing number of competitors like Flourish Crypto and Betterment for Advisors.

“The journey has been one full of successes and struggles, but I’m incredibly proud of what Eric and I built. I’ve exhausted all of my God-given skills and talents building Onramp, and now it’s time for a fresh perspective,” Ross said. “Starting a company requires a lot, but scaling it requires even more; and this is where Eric and I diverge on the path forward for Onramp. As Onramp enters the scaling phase, it is imperative to do what’s best for the company, and that is what’s happening here. My goal is to remain at the forefront of cryptoasset education for advisers, and I still believe Onramp is the industry leader in this area, bar none.”

Onramp raised $6 million in seed funding with “major” investments from firms such as Ritholtz Wealth Management, WisdomTree and Coinbase Ventures, the company said in August. Ervin spent 17 years as an advisor with Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney before founding and eventually selling the ETF issuer that started Onramp two years ago, Reality Shares, according to his company bio.

He thanked the company’s investors for their support and praised Ross for his tenure.

“Our entire team is grateful to Tyrone for everything that he has done and contributed to make Onramp what it has become,” Ervin said. “We are incredibly excited for the opportunity that still lies before us. The team is laser-focused on providing RIAs the foundational tools they need to add a cryptoasset proficiency to their practice and serve their clients in this quickly growing economy.”