Crypto RIA Digital Ascension Group says a growing number of advisors are turning to the company’s digital platforms to ease their cryptocurrency headaches.
“We manage their crypto book for them,” Erin Friez, Digital Ascension Group’s CEO told InvestmentNews. Operationally, many RIAs lack the tools to do this, according to Friez, who says they can also face compliance issues when it comes to crypto. “They need to make sure that their compliance program takes these assets into account,” she added.
Crypto assets, and where they fall under federal securities rules, have posed a challenge for advisors, although the Securities and Exchange Commission recently sought to clarify token taxonomy and jurisdictional boundaries with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Digital Ascension’s Friez says that her company acts as a sub-advisor with regard to crypto. “If you’re an RIA and you want to offer crypto to your clients, we’re an off-the-shelf crypto solution for you to be able to do that,” she told InvestmentNews.
The CEO said that Digital Ascension Group works with “a handful” of RIAs right now, but there is a growing pipeline of others that want to harness its crypto services. “We have well over 50 that are knocking on our door – that’s a new business line for us that we’re very excited about.”
Cryptocurrency adoption among U.S. advisors is growing, according to recent research by Bitwise and VettaFi. Some 32% of advisors surveyed invested in crypto for client accounts in 2025, up from 22% in 2024, the study found.
Crypto RIAs have been garnering attention recently. RIA Abra Financial, Inc., for example, is looking to go public through a $750 million SPAC merger.
In February, Turnqey, a wealthtech platform that aims to modernize cryptoasset advice, rolled out a package of crypto tools and resources for fiduciary-focused advisors.
Dallas, Texas-based Digital Ascension Group also provides services such as estate planning, insurance and tax strategies to high-net-worth and ultra-high net worth individuals. Last week the company announced that it is partnering with fintech Uphold to power its digital asset services for high-net-worth individuals.
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