Financial giant Stone Ridge announced that it had purchased 10,000 bitcoins. Is the future of Bitcoin being controlled by institutions?

Stone Ridge’s cryptocurrency subsidiary New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) revealed today that it is currently holding approximately $114 million in Bitcoin (BTC) in custody for its parent company, according to an announcement.

Stone Ridge previously decided to purchase 10,000 bitcoins as part of its inventory reserve strategy. It chose to have its own spin-off company NYDIG custody these funds, and the company's investment layout in the cryptocurrency field was officially exposed.

Ross Stevens, Stone Ridge founder and NYDIG executive chairman, said,

“We founded NYDIG in 2017 because Bitcoin is an accelerator for Stone Ridge, whose mission is “Financial Security for All”. I believe Bitcoin will always be a border-agnostic unifying force. Bitcoin can push global citizens to choose a better and more equitable financial future,”

He added that the 10,000 bitcoins “are the bulk of our funds.”

The more than $100 million in Bitcoin NYDIG is holding in custody on behalf of Stone Ridge is just part of more than $1 billion worth of digital assets NYDIG holds for its clients.

According to Forbes, the two largest funds currently managed by NYDIG are the Institutional Bitcoin Fund LP ($190 million) and the Bitcoin Yield Enhancement Fund ($140 million). The company also said that its number of clients has quadrupled in the past 10 months.

The announcement comes after NYDIG raised another $50 million in growth equity funding from a number of financial services companies.

Robert Gutmann, co-founder and CEO of NYDIG, said:

“As Bitcoin transitions to become a primarily institutionally owned asset, NYDIG is better positioned than ever to become the leading provider of Bitcoin solutions for corporations, institutions and banks. The firm is seeing accelerating client demand for our full suite of corporate wealth and investment solutions.”

But if Bitcoin becomes an asset owned primarily by institutions, is this the future that Bitcoiners have long hoped for?