Coinbase Acquires Crypto Wallet Firm BRD for Undisclosed Amount
The price of BRD’s utility token rocketed about 500% following the announcement of the deal.
Nov 24, 2021 at 8:44 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/N6ITJ2ENKBE2HNPIZLTSKVD5AE.jpg)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 09: In this photo illustration, a flipped version of the Coinbase logo is reflected in a mobile phone screen on November 09, 2021 in London, England. The cryptocurrency exchange platform is to release its quarterly earnings today. (Photo illustration by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, has acquired crypto wallet firm BRD, according to Coinbase, which did not disclose the terms of the deal.
“BRD’s unique expertise in self-custody crypto wallets, will be invaluable in our goal of enabling more people to safely and securely access the decentralized world of crypto,” a Coinbase spokesperson told CoinDesk on Wednesday. “We’ll be sharing more information in the coming months about how BRD and Wallet teams will unite.”
Launched in 2014 with a focus on decentralization, security and customer-controlled funds, BRD now has over 10 million global customers, according to a website post from co-founders Adam Traidman and Aaron Voisine. The duo said that BRD wallet customers will be able to continue to transact normally, though users will eventually “have an optional migration path to self custody with Coinbase Wallet, which will include a special gift.”
In a Twitter post announcing the acquisition, Coinbase Wallet noted that “we’re excited to be doubling down on our investment in self-custody and Web 3 in pursuit of increasing economic freedom in the world.”
The price of BRD’s utility token, Bread (BRD), rocketed about 500% from $0.16 to about $0.96 on Wednesday following the announcement of the acquisition, according to CoinMarketCap.
UPDATE: (Nov. 24, 22:02 UTC): Updated with the price movement in BRD’s utility token.
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Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.
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