Coinbase stock extends huge rally as it taps BlackRock in bitcoin partnership

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares are spiking 17.8% to the highest since the beginning of May in Thursday morning trading, as it teams up with asset management behemoth BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) to enable its institutional clients to trade bitcoin (BTC-USD). Shares of America's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume jumped as much as 45% earlier, but has since given up some gains. Nevertheless, COIN is up 65% in the past five sessions and +105% M/M, as investors widen their risk appetite in what some are calling a broad bear market rally. Through Coinbase Prime, institutional clients of Aladdin, BlackRock's (BLK) end-to-end investment management platform, will be given direct access to buy and sell crypto, starting with bitcoin (BTC-USD). according to a blog post. Aladdin’s Institutional client base will also be provided with crypto custody, prime brokerage, and reporting capabilities.“Our institutional clients are increasingly interested in gaining exposure to digital asset markets and are focused on how to efficiently manage the operational lifecycle of these assets,” said Joseph Chalom, global head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships at BlackRock. The partnership with Coinbase (COIN) "will allow clients to manage their bitcoin exposures directly in their existing portfolio management and trading workflows for a whole portfolio view of risk across asset classes,” Chalom added. The move highlights Wall Street's increasing i...