A subsidiary of Plantation-based financial technology company TradeStation Group donated $50,000 to help Miami college students stake their claim in South Florida’s hot cryptocurrency market.
TradeStation Crypto, a self-clearing online brokerage for trading cryptocurrencies, bestowed the donation to Miami Dade College Foundation in support of Miami Dade College’s Student Managed Investment Fund, or SMIF.
The financial gift will provide some of the initial seed money to launch the SMIF’s crypto investment strategy and offer Miami Dade College students the educational tools and technology to gain real-time experience around spot crypto trading.
TradeStation Crypto presented a check for the donation June 2 at Miami Dade College’s Business Innovation and Technology Center at the Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami.
“Our goal is to help prepare these students to develop modern investment strategies that include hedging and risk management,” said James Putra, VP of product strategy at TradeStation Crypto.
Putra serves on the advisory board for the SMIF, which is student-led and provides participants with experience investing in U.S. equities and running an investment fund with real assets. TradeStation Crypto’s donation will allow the fund to expand into the digital asset space. Investment returns generated by the fund will also help support scholarships for students.
TradeStation Crypto currently supports trading of BCH, BTC, ETH, LTC, and USDC. Clients can also own crypto as an alternative investment in a Self-Directed Individual Retirement Arrangement, or IRA, through the platform.
“MDC is an educational leader that offers students educational opportunities in emerging and growing financial tech fields,” said Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega. “We are grateful to TradeStation Crypto for this generous donation that will allow us to expand opportunities for our students and the community.”
Founded in 1982, TradeStation Group operates online platforms that enable users to trade stocks, crypto and other securities. The company has U.S. offices in New York, Chicago, and Richardson, Texas in addition to its South Florida headquarters, as well as international locations.
TradeStation Group made headlines earlier this year when it commissioned the 11-foot, 3,000-pound “Miami Bull” statue, which was revealed with fanfare on the first day of the 2022 Bitcoin conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The sculpture is now on display on Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus.
“We wanted [the statue] to be a futuristic symbol of crypto and fintech in Miami that the community could rally behind,” Putra told the Business Journal in April.
Last November, TradeStation Group announced plans to become a publicly traded company through a merger with blank check firm Quantum FinTech Acquisition Corp. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2022, values the combined businesses at $1.4 billion.
Miami Dade College is South Florida’s largest postsecondary educational institution by enrollment, with 54,091 students as of fall 2021.
The Miami area has made big moves to solidify its presence as a global leader in crypto amid mounting interest in digital currencies.
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