The asset manager behind one of the first blockchain ETFs is preparing a $100 million crypto hedge fund even as the market sheds billions

Showtime "Billions"

• Reality Shares, the tiny asset manager known for its blockchain exchange-traded fund, is preparing to launch a $100 million cryptocurrency hedge fund.
• It joins a crowded market of over 300 such funds.

Even as the market for digital currencies sheds billion, corners of Wall Street are still hot on the burgeoning new asset class.

Reality Shares, the tiny asset manager known for its blockchain-focused exchange-traded fund, is preparing to launch a $100 million cryptocurrency hedge fund.

The California-based firm saw its assets under management increase by more than $100 million after its blockchain-ETF started trading earlier this year. Now, the firm is building out its new hedge fund, said a person familiar with the firm's plan.

The fund, which will be capped at $100 million, already has a $25 million committed, according to the person. The multi-strat fund, which will be a mix of arbitrage, venture, and directional strategies, would join a crowded market of more than 366 digital asset-focused funds, according to research by Crypto Fund Research.

2018 is on track to be a record year for crypto fund launches, according to the firm. Still, most are quite small. Only 28 manage more than $100 million.

As for Reality Shares, the launch of a fund is part of a broader push into crypto, according to the person familiar with the firm's operations.

At the same time, other traditional firms are getting more serious about the market for digital assets. Intercontinental Exchange announced the launch of its own crypto trading platform Bakkt, which the exchange-operators thinks will push digital assets into the mainstream. And Coinbase has lured a $20 billion hedge fund to its trading platform, as Business Insider previously reported.

This is all despite a bear market, which has gripped the crypto market for much of 2018. At last check bitcoin, the largest digital currency, was trading close to a year-low of $6,000 a coin. In total, the market for digital currencies has shed more than $500 billion year-to-date.

See also:

• NYSE owners' plan for a new crypto ecosystem has one detail that traders have been crying for - and it might reel in Wall Street
• A former Goldman Sachs exec is joining a crypto-trading firm as it eyes a major global expansion

Get the latest Bitcoin price here.>>