Ten digital assets will soon be available for commission-free trading through M1 Finance, a U.S. brokerage.
Even though the bear market would scare away many crypto investors in 2022, online brokerage business M1 Finance plans to establish crypto trading accounts and trading services in the coming weeks.
The Chicago-based firm was launched in 2015 and claims to handle more than $5 billion in assets (AUM). In addition to commission-free trading on equities and exchange-traded funds (ETF), the brokerage provides retirement accounts.
M1 CEO and founder Brian Barnes explained the move in a blog post on July 11: “It was primarily driven by high user demand to embrace crypto assets:
“The crypto industry is still young and volatile; Bitcoin only emerged 13 years ago,” he said, before adding, “Cryptocurrencies are a roughly trillion-dollar asset class in which over 20% of Americans have invested, traded, or used.”
“It has been the most requested asset addition, with roughly half of our surveyed users wanting to use M1 to invest in crypto.”
Adding them to the platform gives clients the option of incorporating this new asset class into their long-term investing strategy, he says.
Initially, the company will offer ten crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and “other large-cap liquid crypto assets.” M1 Finance announced that it would gradually extend its offerings and that cryptocurrency trading would be commission-free, similar to competitors such as Robinhood.
Pie-based investing is one of M1 Finance’s core features, allowing users to design a portfolio of “Pies” in which each asset and its exposure percentage is represented as a slice on a Pie graph. The solution is powered by algorithmic software that can automatically balance each component of the Pie based on the initial investment strategy or asset allocations of the user.
The company also provides its own curated and automated Pies, which provide passive exposure to a variety of equities. Pie-investing will also be available on the new crypto accounts, according to M1 Finance.
“Construct a cryptocurrency portfolio that meets your financial objectives and risk tolerance.” “You can create original crypto Pies or use Expert Pies, which are pre-built using thematic methods like Defi, Web3, and large-cap crypto,” according to the company blog post.
