Cowen Launches Digital Asset Division Offering Trading and Custody Solutions for Institutional Investors

Cowen Digital Leads US Banks in Providing Institutional Grade End-to-End Infrastructure for the Emerging Digital Asset Class


NEW YORK, March 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cowen Inc. (NASDAQ:COWN) (“Cowen” or the “Company”) today announced the public launch of its digital asset division, Cowen Digital LLC. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the new division offers full-service trade execution and custody solutions on a platform that provides institutional clients with secure and compliant access to the digital asset ecosystem. Custody solutions are provided through Cowen’s strategic partnership with PolySign’s Standard Custody & Trust.

“Through Cowen Digital, our clients now have access to the crypto and digital asset markets with our institutional quality and fully integrated end-to-end execution and custody capabilities,” said Jeffrey M. Solomon, Cowen Chair and Chief Executive Officer. “Cowen is committed to outperforming for its clients by staying at the forefront of innovation.”

Dan Charney, Co-President of Cowen and Company, added: “We are very pleased to publicly announce Cowen Digital, which has been trading crypto on behalf of our clients for several months. In conjunction with our integrated partners Standard Custody and prime brokerage solutions provider, Digital Prime Technologies, Cowen Digital provides our institutional client base with the same dedicated level of thought leadership, product capability, service and professionalism they have come to expect from Cowen. That is why I am pleased to announce effective immediately, Drew Forman has been appointed as the Head of Cowen Digital.”

Over the last 15 months Cowen has been focused on building the infrastructure and systems necessary to launch Cowen Digital. The new division brings proven expertise in traditional finance to support and assist institutional clients as they plan and execute their digital asset investment strategies, underpinned by Cowen’s integrated institutional-grade infrastructure.

Cowen Digital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cowen Inc., enables institutional investors to:

  • Access Cowen’s aggregated liquidity through one trusted counterparty
  • Utilize Cowen’s proprietary algorithms through high-touch or low-touch trading
  • Benefit from streamlined operational and capital efficiencies as well as post-trade reporting
  • Trade directly from Standard Custody’s cold storage solution
  • Avoid pre-funding requirements and receive flexible net settlement arrangements
  • Access expert analysis from Cowen Research and its policy experts, Washington Research Group

Future functionality for Cowen Digital will include derivatives and futures, financing solutions as well as institutional DeFi and NFT access.

About Cowen Digital LLC
Cowen Digital, the digital asset division of Cowen Inc., brings Cowen’s proven expertise in traditional finance to the digital ecosystem. Leveraging Cowen’s capabilities in Markets, Research, Prime Brokerage, Investment Banking, and Investment Management, Cowen Digital supports and assists institutional clients as they explore the evolution of blockchain and digital assets. Learn more here.

About Cowen Inc.
Cowen Inc. (“Cowen” or the “Company”) is a diversified financial services firm that operates through two business segments: a broker dealer and an investment management division. The Company’s broker dealer division offers investment banking services, equity and credit research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing and commission management services. Cowen’s investment management segment offers actively managed alternative investment products. Cowen Inc. focuses on delivering value-added capabilities to our clients in order to help them outperform. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide. Learn more at Cowen.com.

About Standard Custody & Trust Company
Standard Custody & Trust Company is an institutional-grade custody, trading and settlement platform for digital assets. Standard was founded and designed by leading technologists and innovators from pioneering cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology companies blended with traditional capital markets expertise. A subsidiary of PolySign, Inc., Standard’s platform offers novel blockchain technology that provides end-to-end encryption and distributed trust protocols for securing secret keys. Standard’s integrated escrow trading platform enables investors to buy and sell digital assets directly from custody, eliminating the risk of external transfers and inefficient transactions between different providers. Standard embodies high standards for regulatory and compliance excellence, empowering financial institutions to leverage their digital asset positions with confidence in best-in-class security protocols. For more information, please visit standardcustody.com

About Digital Prime Technologies
Digital Prime Technologies enables its clients to quickly and easily deploy a full suite of prime brokerage solutions. While the digital assets sector is complicated and evolving rapidly, Digital Prime Technologies' product suite allows traditional Wall Street firms, as well as other clients, to enter the digital asset space with a robust and fully customizable prime services suite suited to their business and compliance needs. Clients of Digital Prime Technologies, such as Cowen, have the ability to fully customize all aspects of their prime offering for digital assets including custody provider(s), risk management, margin requirements, and liquidity partners. To learn more about Digital Prime Technologies, please visit our website at www.digitalprimetechnologies.com

© 2022, COWEN INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. COWEN DIGITAL LLC

MEDIA CONTACTS

Media Contact for US:

Gagnier Communications
Dan Gagnier
dg@gagnierfc.com
646 569 5897

Media Contact for Europe:

The Realization Group
Vanessa Green/Melanie Budden
+44 (0)771 333 2303        
vanessa.green@therealizationgroup.com