- It’s been operating for just over a year
- The bank has lost interest in the crypto industry
American investment bank Cowen is closing its Cowen Digital assets division. It began operating in March 2022. The department had to attract institutional clients to invest in digital assets. In the future, the bank planned to build a broad ecosystem for users. They promised to add futures, derivatives and decentralized financing deals.
But the bear market and problems with U.S. regulators have taken their toll.
“We will continue to try to implement our plans. But we will have to choose another home for them. We are grateful to the senior management at TD Cowen for allowing us to grow this business and support its growth both internally and externally.”
The letter indicates that the Cowen Digital team will continue to operate on a different platform. It’s still unclear whether they have in mind a move to a more crypto-friendly country or a new startup in the US.
The closure of Cowen Digital adds to a large list of US companies that are refusing to work with the crypto industry. This decision was recently announced by the leading market makers Jump Trading and Jane Street. And crypto exchanges are making their first timid attempts to move from the U.S. to a more loyal country. That’s the decision Gemini recently made – they will now settle in the UAE.
Experts fear that as the Fed’s war on cryptocurrency escalates, the U.S. will cease to be a leading country on blockchain.