According to Cointelegraph, major Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual is acquiring cryptocurrency-friendly brokerage Orama as part of its strategy to expand the bank's digital platforms. BTG Pactual has signed an agreement to buy 100% of Orama's shares for 500 million Brazilian reais ($98.7 million). The acquisition is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals from authorities, including the central bank of Brazil.
Founded in 2011, Orama has nearly 18 billion reais ($3.6 billion) of assets under custody and services about 360,000 customers. Focused on the distribution of investment funds and fixed-income products, Orama has also been exploring cryptocurrency investment. In April 2022, Orama's wealth management arm, Orama Singular, launched an actively managed fund focused on digital assets called Block3, which offers multimarket investment in the cryptocurrency industry.
It's unclear whether BTG Pactual's Orama purchase will result in some new crypto-related products at the bank. BTG Pactual has been active in crypto-related ventures in recent years, including plans to launch BTG Dol, a new stablecoin pegged to the United States dollar on a 1:1 ratio, using the bank's custody services, and a crypto trading app enabling customers to directly invest in cryptocurrencies.