Onramp Bought by Crypto Firm Securitize

What You Need to Know

Onramp Invest will continue to operate, now as a Securitize subsidiary.
The deal will give RIAs easy access to alternative investments, the firms say.
Securitize and Onramp previously announced a deal through which RIAs could access private equity feeder funds Securitize offered with investment firms including Hamilton Lane.

Onramp Invest has been acquired by Securitize, a tokenized alternative asset securities firm, as part of a deal that is “anticipated to close in the next several days,” the companies said Thursday in a joint announcement.

Onramp, which operates a turnkey asset management platform for registered investment advisors that focuses on alternative assets and launched in early 2021, is expected to continue operating as a Securitize subsidiary. Onramp is also expected to integrate Securitize products into its platform over time, the firms noted.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Galaxy Digital Partners is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Securitize.

The acquisition follows a partnership Securitize and Onramp announced in March through which RIAs could access private equity feeder funds Securitize offered with investment firms Hamilton Lane and KKR and the news last month that Securitize started issuing tokenized securities in Europe.

“For the first time, RIAs will instantly be able to offer their clients investments in top performing alternative asset classes,” including private equity, private credit and real estate using the same Onramp dashboard at least some of them are already familiar with, the companies said in a news release.

That will increase and diversify the investments RIAs are able to manage with the ease of their existing reporting systems, the firms said.

“By giving RIAs direct access to Securitize’s alternative investment portfolio, they will be able to offer their clients institutional share classes” from alternative asset managers, lower minimum investments, lower fees and access to liquidity, the companies said.

Securitize connects investors looking to access the wealth generated in the private markets with businesses looking to raise capital, with shares securely recorded on blockchains including Ethereum.