RE: HL15 Jun 2021 09:05
Hedge funds expect to hold 7 per cent of assets in crypto within 5 years
Forecast could equate to about $312bn in digital currencies across the industry, survey finds
Hedge funds plan to significantly increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies by 2026, a new survey shows, in a major vote of confidence for digital assets after recent large price falls and plans for punitive new capital rules.
A survey of 100 hedge fund chief financial officers globally, conducted by fund administrator Intertrust, found that executives expect to hold an average of 7.2 per cent of their assets in cryptocurrencies in five years’ time.
If replicated across the sector, that could equate to a total of about $312bn of assets in cryptos, based on data group Preqin’s forecast for the total size of the hedge fund industry, Intertrust estimated. Seventeen per cent of respondents expected to have more than 10 per cent in crypto.
This would represent a large increase in appetite among hedge funds. Current holdings in the sector are unclear, but a number of big-name managers have already committed small amounts to crypto assets, attracted by soaring prices and market inefficiencies that they can arbitrage.
Man Group trades bitcoin futures in its computer-driven AHL unit, while Renaissance Technologies last year said its flagship Medallion fund could invest in bitcoin futures. Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has bought into Bitcoin, while Brevan Howard has been shifting a small portion of funds into crypto and its co-founder, billionaire Alan Howard, is a major backer of the industry.
Bitcoin is the largest contributor to gains this year at US fund firm SkyBridge Capital, set up by former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, which started buying it late last year and then trimmed its holding going into April — just before the price of the token fell.
https://www.ft.com/content/4f8044bf-8f0f-46b4-9fb7-6d0eba723017
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