Bitwise raises $4m alongside crypto-fund launch

Cryptocurrency fund manager Bitwise Asset Management has closed a $4m seed round of funding, alongside the launch of its HOLD 10 Private Index Fund.

The firm saw contributions from investors including Khosla Ventures’ Keith Rabois, General Catalyst’s Hemant Taneja, Blockchain Capital, David Sacks, Naval Ravikant, Suna Said, Adam Ludwin, Adam Nash, Elad Gil, Avichal Garg, and several others.

Founded in 2017, Bitwise develops funds, indexes, insights to help everyone to get involved with investing in cryptocurrencies.

HOLD 10 is an index fund which holds the top-10 most valuable cryptocurrencies chosen through market capitalisation. The vehicle rebalances monthly, capitalises on hard forks and airdrops. The vehicle has a minimum investment of $25,000 and only US-based accredited investors can contribute.

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said, “While interest has been growing significantly, crypto-assets are still in the early stages of adoption and development as an asset class. Access to the category is still difficult and limited.

“According to a recent survey by Harris Poll, on behalf of Blockchain Capital, less than 2% of individuals own Bitcoin. However, interest is significant, with 19% of respondents indicating they’re likely to buy Bitcoin in the next 5 years. Interest is even higher, at 32%, among millennials.”

Last month, TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington launched a $100m cryptocurrency hedge fund called Arrignton XRP Capital. The vehicle will primarily invest in digital tokens, but will also back cryptocurrency assets and related technology.

Asset management firm TOBAM also launched a cryptocurrency fund, with the firm raising a bitcoin mutual fund to invest into digital tokens.

Copyright © 2017 FinTech Global

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