Big names throw weight behind Crypto Evolution
One way for cryptocurrency to gain more credibility as an investable asset class is for more well-known investors and asset management firms to get involved in the space.
It happens. Count billionaire financier and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen among the widely followed investors expressing interest in crypto. Cohen’s hedge fund – Point72 Asset Management – is the investment vehicle he’s most easily associated with, but recent reports suggest he’s thinking about a broader crypto footprint with a separate entity.
It appears that the new entity may trade various digital assets and related derivatives as well as invest in other hedge funds with a focus on the crypto universe.
“The name of the startup – which is set up separately from Point72, Point72 Ventures and Cohen’s family office – is not known. But Cohen himself has played a key role in its formation, which will require significant expenses when it comes to staffing, not including expensive trading infrastructure and operational needs,” Michael Bodley reported for Blockworks.
Cohen has previously invested in crypto-related startups, so he is no stranger to the space. However, stakes in companies here and there are one thing, but a newly created investment vehicle is a completely different ball game, which could show that crypto is gaining traction among successful professional investors.
“It’s the latest indication that Cohen, who has taken stakes in crypto startups he sees as promising, remains more bullish on digital assets. A growing number of deep-pocketed traditional financiers are considering deploying large capital in the space, conscious of the prices at the bottom of the cellar as markets continue to rumble following the collapse of Terra stablecoin UST and the demise of crypto lenders including Celsius and Voyager.” according to Blockworks.
The news of Cohen delving deeper into crypto comes shortly after Citadel’s Ken Griffin expressed a more favorable stance on crypto and after BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager — announced plans to partner with crypto exchange giant Coinbase.
“While the startup is believed to have no immediate plans to accept outside capital, the effort is a mechanism for Cohen to begin laying the groundwork for a future broad-based crypto trading platform,” Blockworks added.
Crypto exchange-traded funds that can be supported by increasing professional interest in the area include VanEck Digital Assets Mining ETF (DAM)it VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP)and VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF).
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