Quick take:
- BTG Pactual has acquired bitcoin-focused brokerage services provider Orama DTVM for $97.5 million.
- The 100% purchase expands BTG’s crypto strategy after previously launching crypto trading services.
- The Brazilian investment ganking giant has also announced plans to launch a stablecoin.
Brazilian investment banking company BTG Pactual has announced the 100% purchase of Orama DTVM, a digital brokerage services provider focused on bitcoin.
Orama, which has about R$17.9 billion in assets under management boasts over 360,000 customers. According to the announcement, this acquisition will help Orama to leverage economies of scale, expand its customer base, reduce fixed expenses, and improve efficiency and synergies, thus boosting productivity.
Orama was launched in 2011 with a focus on distributed investment funds. In 2014, the company expanded its strategy to include fixed income before adding variable income and pension products in 2018.
In April 2022, the company’s wealth management arm, Orama Singular, launched Block3, an actively managed fund focused on digital assets. The fund offers exposure to cryptocurrency investments, including bitcoin, altcoins and other derivatives.
Commenting on the announcement, BTG’s Digital Platforms Partner Marcelo Flora said: “We are very excited about the acquisition, which will provide Orama customers with access to the complete BTG platform.
Habib Nascif, co-founder and CEO of Órama commented: “With this agreement, Órama customers will continue to have access to quality products and services.” On the other hand fund managers will be able to focus on what Orama calls ‘Investment as a Service’ which is a set of solutions created for third-party investment management companies, looking to offer their customers a diverse selection of investment opportunities.
This announcement also comes at a time when leading investment banking institutions, including BlckRock, Invesco, Bitwise and Valkyrie.
The mainstream banking industry also seems to be preparing for a major integration of crypto services, with multiple banks now offering crypto custody services, while others have teamed up with Web3 companies like Fireblocks to launch non-custodial crypto services.
Brazil is not the only Latin American country to embrace crypto. In July 2023, the Argentinian financial markets regulator, the National Securities Commission (CNV) approved the first Bitcoin-based futures contract, giving investors exposure to bitcoin.
BTG’s purchase of Orama is still subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, including from the Central Bank of Brazil. In April this year, the company announced plans to issue a USD-pegged stablecoin, further expanding its digital currency strategy.
****
Stay up to date:
Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!
