Investment app Betterment still not ready to offer crypto services, says CEO

Betterment, a major financial advisory company providing robo-advising and cash management services, has not yet decided whether it will introduce cryptocurrencies to its platform.

Betterment is still researching a potential expansion of its services to inclue digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), CEO Sarah Levy said.

“We’re believers that if we can provide the right kind of context and advice, that it’s OK to participate in some of these newer asset classes,” Levy said in a Tuesday interview at Bloomberg’s Wealth Summit. “I’d like us to find a way to responsibly offer crypto, but I can’t say that we’re there yet. I think we’re still in kind of a watch-and-learn mode,” she added.

Founded back in 2008, Betterment is a popular platform in the United States, helping clients to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds, allocated to an “appropriate level of risk” for a given timeline. 

In April, the company announced record-breaking growth in the first quarter of 2021, adding $10 billion to its AUM and reporting a 116% increase in new clients year-over-year. Previously, Betterment acquired the U.S. book of rival Canadian robo-advisor WealthSimple, a company that launched Canada’s first regulated crypto exchange in September 2020.

While Betterment continues its research on a potential move into crypto, major Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have already taken steps to allow wealthy clients to invest in cryptocurrencies. Global payment giant PayPal said that the demand for its crypto services exceeded the company’s expectations after the firm launched its first crypto offerings in late 2020.