Hedge funds are cashing in on bitcoin mania — there are now 50 dedicated to cryptocurrencies

mohammedfelahi (57)in #bitcoin • 7 years ago

Business Insider
Frank Chaparro

Business InsiderAugust 30, 2017Comment

(Bitcoin themed balloons float in the air during the "Inside Bitcoins: The Future of Virtual Currency Conference" in New York.Reuters/Lucas Jackson)

The market for cryptocurrencies is red-hot, and dozens of crypto-focused hedge funds are looking to get in on the action.

Digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, are powered by distributed ledger technology and are not controlled by a centralized authority. The market for such currencies has exploded with over 800 coins on the market with a combined marketcap of $166 billion.

Autonomous NEXT, a fintech analytics firm, released a list of 55 cryptocurrency hedge funds on Tuesday, illustrating the mounting interest in the space.

"Like wild mushrooms, crypto hedge funds have been taking root in the volatile and unregulated soil of the crypto economy," Autonomous NEXT said in a post on their website. "So we went digging, and digging and digging," the firm added.

Many of the firms sport crypto-themed names such as Ether Capital, an homage to the token powering the ethereum blockchain, and Medici Crypto. 1 confirmation is one of the youngest funds on the list. It launched on August 22 and has the backing of tech billionaire and "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban.

"Cryptocurrencies have garnered a fair amount of interest in the investment management space, primarily because of the returns they have recently shown," he said.

#crypto-currency #ethereum