U.K. Regulators Approve First Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund
Prime Factor Capital was the first crypto hedge fund approved as a full-scope alternative investment fund manager by the Financial Conduct Authority, according to Bloomberg.
Though approved by the UK watchdog, the firm will abide by European regulations. Under these guidelines the firm will be allowed to hold more than 100 million euros in assets under management. It is the first agency to be approved to invest exclusively in the cryptocurrency asset class.
The founders believe that by focusing on a single asset class, though one known that carries distrust within the industry, they will surge ahead of their global competitors and become the trusted authority on crypto investing.
“Most vehicles for investing in cryptocurrencies are outside the scope of regulators and that’s a big problem in a market that has such a bad reputation,” Adam Grimsley, Prime Factor’s chief operating officer, told Bloomberg.
Prime Factor is required to appoint a custodian under EU regulations to ensure and validate investors’ returns and the fund’s holdings. The custodian will act independently and also provide cash flow reconciliation.
The fund manages funds for professional and institutional investors including high net worth individuals, family offices, an private wealth managers, according to a company statement.
There is no information available publicly regarding the firm’s investment strategy. The team is comprised of former employees from Blackrock, Legal & General, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank.
On their website, company CEO Nic Niedermowwe published a report titled “The Fallacy of Uncollateralised Stablecoins,” in which he argued that uncollateralised stablecoins are problematic. One benefit to these coins is reducing the volatility inherent in the crypto market, though the author also suggests that by pegging the coin to an outside third party they are introducing centralization that runs contrary to the spirit of blockchain.
Niedermowwe has also considered such subjects as the scalability of Bitcoin on the company website.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Prime Factor Capital previously announced an equity financing round with Speedinvest, a European Fintech investor, and Entrepreneur First, a talent investor.
Euro photo via Shutterstock
Published at Tue, 02 Jul 2019 17:30:06 +0000
