Investment bank TD Cowen shuts crypto unit a year after opening

Just over a year after launching its crypto unit, American independent investment bank TD Cowen has announced the shutdown of Cowen Digital, though it has not provided a clear reason why.

The multinational bank launched Cowen Digital in March 2022 to provide institutional clients exposure to the crypto market via 16 crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

At the time, the firm also teased that it would launch additional services revolving around futures, derivatives and decentralized finance. It had also made executive hires for its European operations as recently as December and had a team of roughly 10 employees.

However, according to a new email currently circulating online that’s been seen by outlets such as Bloomberg News, Cowen Digital will close down as of June 1.

“Today will be the last day for the team here at Cowen Digital,” the email read. It did not disclose the reasons behind the closure.

The Cowen bank itself had undergone a shake-up after being acquired by TD Bank Group for $1.3 billion in August 2022 in a deal completed in March this year.

TD Bank Group acquisition announcement. Source: TD Bank Group

Cointelegraph has reached out to the firm, which is now known as TD Cowen, for comment and will update the article if the company responds.

The closure comes amid a number of crypto company collapses last year, alongside the U.S. banking and regulatory woes in 2023.

The Cowen Digital website currently shows a 404 error. Source: TD Cowen

Notably, the email suggested that the Cowen Digital team is looking to carry on its work under a different organization.

“Our entire team believes strongly in the need for trusted counterparties who understand the needs of institutional investors — through white-glove high and low touch execution, deep knowledge-driven content, corporate access and group educational events. We will continue to try and fulfill that endeavor, but will have to do so in a different home,” the email reads.

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The closure of Cowen Digital marks the second institutional crypto client unit to shut down in the space of a week.

As reported by Bloomberg on May 25 report, Venture capital conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has opted to close its prime brokerage subsidiary TradeBlock, with the process starting as of May 31.

The firm cited a “prolonged crypto winter” along with a tough regulatory climate in the U.S. Cointelegraph also reported in February that DCG suffered losses of $1 billion in 2022 due to the contagion stemming from the bankruptcy of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

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