Earlier this week, Bitwise announced that it had gained the financial backing of a new list of investors — including KKR founder Henry Kravis and billionaire hedge fund manager Stan Druckenmiller.
The round, which raised $70 million at a valuation just north of $500 million, featured investors including Electric Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Vetamer Capital, and Third Point, among others.
Daniel Loeb, founder and chief executive of Third Point, said:
“We are excited to partner with Bitwise and its top-notch management team to continue to execute on its vision to become an enduring institution and leader in the crypto economy.”
Bitwise, which has quickly grown as a leading asset manager in the cryptocurrency space, now has over $1 billion in assets under management. The firm also offers a wide array of financial products to its clients, including index funds and exchange-traded funds.
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Its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index, which features the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and more. The index notably has $800 million in AUM.
Bitwise Will Use Latest Cash Injection to Bolster Operations
The funds that were raised will be used to further strengthen its balance sheet and develop its client service and sales teams, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said. In the past year alone, the firm has doubled its headcount and hinted towards doubling them again by the year-end.
“Much of the crypto industry is trading and traders, people looking at the price everyday and thinking about what the latest news or tweet means for price over the next seven days,” Horsley said. “We serve the long- term investor thinking if this has a role to play in the next 5-10 years of how they approach their portfolio and building a thesis.”
“It’s an audience that has slightly different behaviors. We’ve seen inflows every day for the last two months despite market pullback, and it’s a really important additional audience to come into the space.”
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