Financial advisors in search of educational resources and technology to help them work with bitcoin and other digital assets got some help this week when Tyrone Ross formally introduced the Onramp Invest suite of learning and digital resources to help advisors access cryptocurrencies on behalf of their clients.

“We’re looking to solve a major pain point for the RIA space,” Ross said. “We want to provide education, access and tools for advisors to on-ramp into the crypto-asset space.”

Ross, who in 2019 was one of Financial Advisor’s "Young Advisors to Watch," said that Onramp Invest launches as an integration-platform-as-a-service technology provider, or IPaaS, creating a bridge between the technology ecosystem that works with digital assets like cryptocurrencies and advisors’ existing technology stack.

Current partners with Onramp Invest include WisdomTree, Galaxy Digital, CoinDesk, Wealthbox, Advyzon and Interaxis, as well as crypto-custody providers Gemini and Prime Trust.

“We are providing greater access to crypto-assets by being the rails for the data flow,” Ross said. “We connect to Prime Trust and Gemini on the back end, and Advyzon, Wealthbox and others on the front end to permit data to move back and forth. We allow these different systems to talk to each other.”

The Advyzon integration, for example, enables advisors to track cryptocurrency assets in the same system they use for more traditional assets.

“Investors are asking advisors questions, and that has started to filter up to us,” said John Mackowiak, Advyzon’s chief business development officer. “We found that we did not have a great solution, so we were continuing to monitor things for an opportunity, which finally arose with Onramp. It fits nicely with what we’re trying to do, not only because they provide education, but also because they are trying to be a single source of integrations for the crypto space.”

The partnership with WisdomTree has culminated in the creation of a suite called +Crypto Model Portfolios as a resource to help guide clients participating in the digital asset space.

Via the Galaxy Digital, CoinDesk and Interaxis partnerships, the Onramp Academy represents the educational side of the new initiative, offering resources for advisors, their clients and consumers.

The resources include primers, Morningstar-like “fact cards” for crypto-assets and other materials, including at least 20 opportunities for continuing education credits toward Interaxis’s Certified Digital Asset Advisor (CDAA) designation.