Key Takeaways




The bank established Cowen Digital in March 2022 to provide institutional clients with access to the crypto market



The team behind Cowen Digital intends to continue their work under a different organization




TD Cowen, an independent American investment bank, has made the surprising decision to shut down its crypto unit, Cowen Digital, just over a year after its launch. The bank had initially established Cowen Digital in March 2022 to provide institutional clients with access to the crypto market, offering a range of 16 crypto assets including Bitcoin.



Despite the closure announcement, TD Cowen has not provided a clear reason for the decision, leaving industry observers curious about the bank’s motives. The news of the unit’s shutdown was communicated through a public email, which did not offer any explicit explanation for the move.



When Cowen Digital was first introduced, it had ambitious plans to expand its services to include futures, derivatives, and decentralized finance. The bank had also made executive hires to support its operations in Europe. However, the sudden closure raises questions about the bank’s overall strategy and its long-term commitment to the crypto industry.



In the email announcing the closure, there was a hint that the team behind Cowen Digital intends to continue their work under a different organization. The email emphasized the importance of trusted counterparties for institutional investors and expressed a commitment to fulfilling their needs through personalized execution, knowledge-driven content, corporate access, and educational events.



“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.



This closure marks the second institutional crypto unit to shut down within a week, as Digital Currency Group (DCG) , a prominent venture capital conglomerate, recently announced the closure of its prime brokerage subsidiary, TradeBlock.



TD Cowen’s decision to shut down Cowen Digital raises speculation about the bank’s future strategies and its dedication to the crypto space. The closure comes after TD Bank Group’s acquisition of Cowen for $1.3 billion in August 2022, a deal that was finalized earlier this year.