Today asset manager Blackstone announced that Adam White is joining as Senior Adviser for digital asset investment. White is the former COO of ICE’s Bakkt crypto company and did a five-year stint at the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.
“We are excited to welcome Adam as an advisor to Blackstone. He will help us think critically about the broader ecosystem for digital assets, including the potential areas of disruption as blockchain technology is applied to new sectors. Few people better understand both the challenges and opportunities related to the industry,” said Vishal Amin, a Managing Director at Blackstone Growth.
White will advise across Blackstone’s businesses, but the emphasis will be on Blackstone Growth (BXG).
Blackstone has not been hugely active in the crypto or blockchain spaces. Its funds invested in Chainalysis, the blockchain data and crypto compliance firm, which is a very conservative investment for the crypto space. It also joined the iCapital consortium that’s planning a permissioned blockchain network to provide a golden record of alternative investment trades that should reduce reconciliation costs.
The news comes shortly after fellow asset manager BlackRock announced it is launching a private Bitcoin fund following partnerships with Coinbase and investment in stablecoin firm Circle.
But while asset managers might be forging ahead in crypto and blockchain engagement, U.S.-based banks have hit another hurdle after the Federal Reserve has asked to be informed of all crypto-asset activities before they commence.
