Binance.US, Gemini to join network of data company Plaid

Data connectivity company Plaid has added crypto exchanges Binance.US and Gemini, as well as crypto services from Robinhood and SoFi, to its network, the company announced in a blog post on Thursday.

Customers will be able to share their crypto account information, including asset types, balances and transactions, with other services they use to help with financial planning, tax advisory services and net worth calculations. It will also add Blockchain.com and BitGo to its network later this year.

Plaid asserts that it has seen a surging demand for crypto data portability as people seek to share crypto data alongside traditional holdings. The company, which specializes in connecting financial information across different apps and services, started offering KYC and identity verification services for crypto companies following its purchase of identity verification platform Cognito in January 2022. 

However, users will not have access to the full suite of services Plaid usually provides. Speaking with Tech Crunch, the company’s head of identity Alain Meier said that support for crypto accounts is read-only, meaning developers will not be able to move money on behalf of users. 

Plaid may struggle to court more privacy-focused crypto users. At the start of this year, it paid out $58 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by customers with bank accounts linked to its client apps. The suit accused it of collecting "more financial data than was needed from users," and although it settled, the company denied any wrongdoing.