Hi. I'm Aaron Weinman. BlackRock has been slowly easing itself into the choppy seas of digital assets.
BlackRock, alongside other investors, committed to a $400 million funding for fintech Circle, which issues a US dollar-pegged stablecoin known as USDC, in April. Shortly after that, Insider first reported that BlackRock would launch a blockchain- and crypto-themed exchange-traded fund.
Then last month, BlackRock inked a partnership with Coinbase to connect clients on its Aladdin platform with crypto. Later in August, BlackRock announced it would launch a private trust to provide bitcoin exposure to its US institutional clients.
All this activity comes amid a severe downturn in digital-asset prices, layoffs at Coinbase, and the possibility of new regulation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
BlackRock, one could argue, has done a lot more than merely become exposed to crypto. In fact, it has amassed its own crypto crew, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino reported here.
Let's take a look at 10 leaders shaping the firm's crypto efforts.
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1. BlackRock is leaning on 10 leaders to iron out its strategy toward crypto and the broader digital-assets space. The company's foray into crypto comes amid a tough time for the space, which is hamstrung by weakened asset prices and broader market instability.
Despite the see-saw nature of crypto, participation in the sector from the world's largest money manager lends a hefty amount of credibility to the asset class.
Even with the downturn, Larry Fink, BlackRock's chief executive, said on the firm's earnings call in July that it was seeing "more interest from institutional clients" about how to access crypto.
The main challenge for traditional financial services firms like BlackRock, however, is tapping into digital assets' talent pool. At the heart of the matter is getting legacy institutions to pivot to the fast-changing world of crypto.
To help with that, BlackRock has amassed a crypto crew. Here is a bit more about them.
In other news:
2. JPMorgan's fees from its investment bank could fall up to 50% year-on-year, as revenues from underwriting and M&A slump, the bank's head of corporate and investment banking said. Bank of America's chief executive also said BofA is likely to see a similar drop in fees, but added that the bank's strong deal pipeline would help activity pick up once markets stabilize. Both banks expressed caution about job cuts, however, in contrast to Goldman Sachs, which could lay off hundreds from this month.
3. Security startup Tanium is trying to cozy up to Microsoft and set itself up to be acquired. The $9 billion startup has had two rounds of job cuts in the past month, as hopes of a potential initial public offering fade, current and former staff told Insider.
4. Peloton went from a pandemic-era success story worth $50 billion to laying off more than 4,000 of its workforce. Here is how the at-home exercise company's rise turned into a swift fall.
5. Goldman Sachs is set to raise about $15 billion for its latest mezzanine debt fund, Bloomberg reported. The fund, called GS Mezzanine Partners VIII, topped its initial target of $12.5 billion. In terms of repayment to lenders, mezzanine debt sits between senior debt and equity funding in a capital structure of a business.
6. Rising rates and slowing economic growth have left many companies saddled with high debt loads and greater interest-rate payments. The Financial Times has created a list of so-called "debt monsters" that are flashing warning signals.
7. KKR has made a piece of one its private-equity funds available for individuals to invest in on a public blockchain, the Wall Street Journal reported. The investment firm is partnering with digital-assets specialist Securitize, which will tokenize an interest in KKR's Healthcare Strategic Growth Fund. The fund will be available for investors via the Avalanche public blockchain.
8. Goldman Sachs' largest-ever tech conference is happening in San Francisco. Tech executives from Microsoft and Qualcomm shared dour outlooks for the space. Here is a view from inside the bank's event.
9. Twitter's shareholders have approved Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover of the social-media company. With Musk trying to back out of the deal, the shareholders' approval of his original agreement now sets the stage for a testy legal battle. Also, here is a timeline of Musk's nine-month chaotic saga to buy Twitter, from a poop emoji to a whistleblower appearing before Congress.
10. Gibson Dunn is one of the country's most prestigious law firms. Here, two partners outline the traits they look for and the questions they ask when recruiting summer associates.
People moves:
- Vista Equity Partners has hired Michael Charlton as a managing director in its capital and partner solutions unit. Charlton will lead investor relations for Vista's credit platform. He most recently was a MD for Anchorage Capital Group.
- Credit Suisse has lost two bankers to Morgan Stanley and Bank of Montreal, Bloomberg reported.
- Daniel Cavalli is joining Morgan Stanley as a managing director. He led Credit Suisse's financial institutions coverage and M&A for Latin America.
- Amit Melwani, who is joining the Canadian bank, was also a MD who covered consumer and retail M&A.
Curated by Aaron Weinman in New York. Tips? Email aweinman@insider.com or tweet @aaronw11. Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.