TD Cowen shuts crypto unit

TD Cowen, the American independent investment bank, has announced the closure of its crypto unit, Cowen Digital, just over a year after its launch. The bank had established Cowen Digital in March 2022 with the aim of providing institutional clients exposure to the cryptocurrency market, offering 16 crypto assets including Bitcoin and Ether. The closure comes without a clear explanation from TD Cowen.

An email circulating online, revealed that Cowen Digital will cease operations as of June 1. The email stated that June 1 would be the last day for the Cowen Digital team, but did not provide specific reasons for the closure.

TD Cowen had previously hinted at plans to expand its services to include futures, derivatives, and decentralised finance. The bank had also made executive hires for its European operations in December and had a team of around 10 employees.

TD Cowen itself recently underwent changes after being acquired by TD Bank Group for $1.3 billion in August 2022, with the deal finalized in March of this year. Cointelegraph has reached out to TD Cowen, formerly known as Cowen, for further comment.

The closure of Cowen Digital follows a series of crypto company collapses in the past year, as well as regulatory challenges faced by the US banking sector in 2023. The email indicated that the Cowen Digital team intends to continue its work under a different organization that focuses on serving the needs of institutional investors.

This closure coincides with the shutdown of another institutional crypto client unit. Digital Currency Group (DCG), a venture capital conglomerate, has decided to close its prime brokerage subsidiary TradeBlock, citing the “prolonged crypto winter” and a challenging regulatory environment in the US. DCG reported losses of $1 billion in 2022, partly due to the impact of the bankruptcy of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.