WealthSimple Announces Bitcoin and Ethereum Investing with the Help of Gemini Custody

Within mere weeks, nearly 200,000 clients of WealthSimple will experience new exposure to cryptocurrencies.

The popular Canadian company, known for its automated investing services, has announced the upcoming launch of a cryptocurrency trading service.

Supported Assets

Known simply as ‘WealthSimple Crypto’, access will be provided through a unique crypto account.  For those interested, these accounts are generated within the ‘WealthSimple Trade’ app.

Upon launch, support will be provided for only two assets.

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as they are, without doubt, the two most popular and well-known assets of their kind.  It is unknown at this time if there are plans for expansion, and the eventual support of other assets.  Surely, if the trading app does well, this will be the case at some point in the future.  If this does occur, look to assets supported by Gemini Custody for an idea of what will come next.

Gemini Custody

A product of the Winklevoss twins, Gemini Custody is quickly becoming a favourite among start-ups in need of such services – and with good reason.  This custodial service is one of the most heavily regulated, has a great track record, and offers benefits such as $200M in insurance coverage.

Rather than developing their own solution, WealthSimple recognized the benefits Gemini Custody has to offer, and has turned to them.  This partnership provides a nice safety net for WealthySimple Crypto clients.

Notably, Gemini Custody is the custodian of platforms such as BlockFi and Samsung Blockchain.

Forward Thinking

WealthSimple has made a name for themselves based on their automated investing services.  These types of services, however, are typically geared towards long-term investing.  Having established this reputation, the company now appears to be branching out, providing their clients with a more progressive approach to finance.

This is evident, not only through the new support for cryptocurrencies, but through various features found on their platform.  For example, when utilizing their automated investing platform, clients have the option to structure their portfolios in unique manners, beyond simply risk-tolerance.  These include socially responsible investing and Halal investing (Islamic investing principles).

By offering the ability to invest based upon your belief systems, whether that be for the betterment of Earth, or in compliance with Islamic law, WealthSimple is clearly targeting a forward thinking audience – an audience which should be on board with the ideologies which underpin assets such as bitcoin.

Industry Adoption

Beyond benefiting clients of WealthSimple, news of this service bodes well for the industry at large.  Much like robo-advisors, cryptocurrencies have gone from niche markets, to attaining increasing levels of adoption.

Since its launch, WealthSimple has managed to cultivate a reputation as one of the best financial service providers around.  Simply being affiliated with such a company brings validity and clout, to an asset class not necessarily understood by the average investor.

WealthSimple will instantly become one of the most credible sources for cryptocurrency trading in the countries they serve.

Growing Suite

As a whole, WealthSimple is much more than the soon-to-be cryptocurrency trading service.  To date, the team behind WealthSimple has developed and launched various services and capabilities.  It is this growing suite that has allowed them to become one of the most popular companies of their kind.

• Invest
  • Automated investing services based on personalized goals
• Cash
  • Zero-fee savings account with various spending features
• Trade
  • Commission-free stock & ETF trading

WealthSimple

Founded in 2014, WealthSimple is a financial service provider, based in Toronto, Canada.  Since launch, WealthSimple has amassed a client-base totaling nearly 200,000, and manages $5 billion in assets.

CEO, Michael Katchen, currently oversees company operations.