Coinbase Acquires Tagomi: Expanding Institutional Crypto Trading

Coinbase announced on Wednesday it’s acquired crypto brokerage firm Tagomi. While the companies have yet to disclose the financial terms, an insider told Fortune Coinbase funded the acquisition using its privately held stock. Others close to the deal shared the acquisition’s cost neared $100 million, adding that Coinbase successfully outbid Binance to seal the deal.

In a blog post, Coinbase shared, “The addition of Tagomi will round out our product suite for the fast-growing institutional trading market. It will allow us to offer custody, professional trading features, and prime brokerage services on one platform, giving sophisticated investors the seamless, powerful trading experience they have come to expect in equities and FX markets.”

According to Coinbase, acquiring Tagomi will also allow the crypto company to provide its customers with custody, professional trading features and prime brokerage services via a singular platform.

Over the past year, Coinbase has experienced an uptick in demand from its institutional investors, which has led to the launch of new features like margin trading. The company also recently expanded its coverage for larger clients by tapping Brett Tejpaul as head of institutional coverage. 

Launched in December 2018, Tagomi, has been treated as a late entry to the crypto service market. Though, the startup quickly gained attention because of its team of finance-focused founders. Jennifer Campbell, founder of Tagomi, was once a partner at Union Square Ventures. Meanwhile, Greg Tusar, founder and chief technology officer at Tagomi previously worked as the head of electronic trading at Goldman Sachs. 

Though Coinbase has officially announced the acquisition, the deal is not expected to close until later this year. The acquisition is also subject to various closing conditions and the usual regulatory approvals.