Report: Crypto Funds Make up 20% of Hedge Fund Launches in 2018
October 15 2018 - 9:35AM
ADVFN Crypto NewsWire
The number of cryptocurrency hedge fund launches has increased
dramatically in 2018 despite a bearish market, finds a new
study.
According to Crypto Fund Research, crypto funds now constitute 20 percent of the
total hedge fund launches in 2018. The industry witnessed 90
cryptocurrency fund launches by the end of the third quarter of
this year, and the number could go as high as 120 by the end of Q4.
That is 1.69 percent more than in 2017 and 471 percent higher than
in 2016. Overall, there are 600 hedge funds projected to go
live this year.
“The number of crypto hedge funds has skyrocketed since the
beginning of 2017. Two-thirds of all currently operational crypto
funds have launched in the last seven quarters, through Q3 2018,”
the report said.
Crypto Fund Research also points out that crypto hedge funds are
a part of some 622 crypto funds, a number which also includes
funds based on venture capital and private equity. Together,
they represent assets worth $4 billion.
Bearish Market a Potential Entry Point
The sudden influx of new crypto funds in the hedge fund industry
comes at a time when the market is in a strong bearish bias. The
crypto market capitalization has dropped by more than 70 percent
this year since establishing its all the high in late 2017.
Incidentally, many new crypto funds were launched during the market
uptrend last year. A majority of them reported more than 50 percent
in losses, according to research by Autonomous Next
published in Q2 this year.
Joshua Gnaizda, the founder of Crypto Fund Research, believes
the new crypto hedge launches are far from being stopped despite
unfavorable market conditions. He said:
“In the midst of 2018’s decline in traditional hedge fund
launches, crypto hedge funds are a notable aberration.
Cryptocurrency prices have been in a bear market for the better
part of the year and regulatory uncertainty persists in much of the
world […] While we don’t believe the rate of new launches is
sustainable longer-term, there are currently few signs of a
significant slowdown.”
Crypto’s Q3 performance, however, has seemingly established its
bottom. Bitcoin, for instance, was able to form a strong support
area below $6,000, leading to theories that its value would not go
down below the level. It is believed that many institutional
investors have entered long positions around the same level, the
latest being Yale University’s $3o billion
endowments investing in two cryptocurrency hedge funds, which
is why hedge fund managers are inclined to include crypto assets in
their portfolio.
Source:
CCN
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