Galaxy Digital Seeds New Crypto Fund Manager

A new crypto investment firm co-founded by a one-time Galaxy Digital executive is using his old firm to scale actively managed digital asset strategies.

Sarah Olsen and Peter Wisniewski launched their Europa Digital Assets in early April. Olsen was previously head of corporate development for JPMorgan blockchain platform Onyx, while Wisniewski most recently served as Galaxy’s co-head of global trading.

Galaxy Digital has distributed seed capital to the firm’s flagship Opportunistic Offshore Fund, the company said Thursday. A spokesperson declined to comment on the size of Galaxy’s investment.

Europe’s actively managed open-ended funds are set to offer qualified buyers exposure to crypto spot assets, derivatives and DeFi protocols.

“There are few other funds that actively manage across spot and derivatives trading, executing strategies that we do across arbitrage, relative value and long volatility,” Olsen told Blockworks. “I would say most of these funds don’t have portfolio managers like Pete who have that much experience.”

Wisniewski said the crypto market is still quite “fragmented,” noting that companies and projects in the space often have limited access to cash.

“Whether it’s miners doing structured products or something else [firms] Looking for creative ways to raise capital for operations, we think a lot of corporate activity and a lot of displacement in the market is driving opportunities,” he said.

Galaxy has offered European guidance on risk management, operations and branding, Olsen said – and the company will also use Galaxy’s trading platform.

“An active, nuanced investment approach to digital assets can help investors navigate choppy market conditions and a challenging macro environment,” Galaxy co-president Damien Vanderwilt said in a statement.

Despite the ongoing selloff in crypto markets, Wisniewski said, many investors are interested in taking advantage of lower valuations.

“Having not had a lot of institutional investment in the space in the last five years, people see this as a better entry point if they really believe in the technology, which we do,” he said.

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