FILE PHOTO: Businessman toy figure is placed on U.K. Pound coins in front of displayed Abrdn logo in this illustration taken, November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
LONDON (Reuters) - British asset manager abrdn has bought a stake in digital assets exchange Archax, amid a wider push by investors into crypto-assets despite a recent plunge in value.
The stake, acquired for an undisclosed sum, makes the asset manager its largest external shareholder, abrdn said in a statement.
Founded in 2018, Archax provides access to blockchain-based digital assets and became the first digital securities exchange to win regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, the statement said.
The deal was first reported by the Financial Times.
Abrdn's move reflects a wider surge in interest in digital assets from institutional investors.
The world's biggest asset manager Blackrock launched a spot bitcoin private trust for institutional clients earlier this month, and has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to provide some of its services to clients.
Abrdn reported lower-than-expected profits earlier this week as turbulent markets dented its performance, and warned it would take longer to grow its revenues.
(Reporting by Iain Withers; editing by David Evans)
