Bitwise jumps into active strategies, names alternatives team

Crypto-focused fund manager Bitwise Asset Management announced a move into active strategies amid growing institutional demand for liquid crypto strategies. 

Bitwise has focused on how to open up access to the opportunities emerging in crypto over the past five years, though passively, CEO Hunter Horsely said.

"The addition of active strategies to our services is a huge step forward in our ability to do that," he said.

The new strategies require a hands-on approach, typically by a portfolio manager or other active participant, and several executives were named to the new team. The news comes despite the slide in asset prices over the past year and as more players enter the industry, including stolid institutions like Fidelity and BlackRock, which launched a bitcoin trust, as well as Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities, which started a crypto exchange, EDX Markets. 

Bitwise will now offer long bias strategies, including event-driven, directional and liquid ventures, as well as market-neutral strategies such as arbitrage, yield, and quant. The firm will also offer special situation capabilities including for tokens, equity, credit, DAOs and hedging.

Jeffrey Park will head up the alternatives team. He joined Bitwise from Corbin Capital in February. Vincent Molino, who came over from Northern Trust in May, and Denny Peng, formerly of hedge fund Millennium Management, are also on the team.