Asset management group IDEG Investments has launched Asia’s first-ever Bitcoin trust for professional investors.
In a press release published on Sunday, IDEG states that the funds are designed as an easy way for Asian “old money” to invest in the digital asset markets.
The IDEG Investments group has launched two funds – the Asia Bitcoin Trust I and the Atlas Mining Trust I – which are both managed in different ways.
Unlike Grayscale, which is a passively managed fund, the Asia Bitcoin Trust I is actively managed by a professional investment team, whereas the Asia Mining Trust I offers investors the opportunity to share profits from Bitcoin mining operators.
Kevin Yang, CEO of IDEG, said:
“As the investment manager of the Trust, IDEG will apply a range of hedging and arbitrage strategies in order to gain more Bitcoin for the investors and meanwhile effectively control the risk of drawdowns.”
Raymond Yuan, the founder of IDEG, encouraged more professional investors to invest in digital assets, saying:
“Bitcoin is a unique asset class that has no correlation with any traditional asset. Investing in Bitcoin can optimise the risk-to-reward ratio of portfolios. It’s time for the institutional investors to include digital assets in their asset allocation strategies.”
Yuan also sees a huge potential return from Bitcoin mining operations, which he claimed institutional miners could “improve in almost every aspect” compared to the average Bitcoin miner.
Coinbase custody
The trusts will use Coinbase’s custody solutions to hold their Bitcoin. US-based crypto exchange Coinbase is the world’s largest custodian of digital assets.
Yuan says of Coinbase’s digital asset custody:
“Our positioning is to be a bridge to connect traditional investors and digital assets with the highest transparency and the highest security in the industry.”
American Bitcoin trust Grayscale, which has previously claimed to be the world’s largest Bitcoin and digital asset fund, also uses Coinbase’s custody solutions to store its cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase, which originally began as an easy fiat-to-crypto on-ramp for retail investors, has recently been focusing heavily on providing professional custody solutions for crypto funds.
The custodian holds over 900,000 Bitcoins and a range of other cryptocurrencies. In August, Grayscale transferred over $2.7 billion in crypto assets to Coinbase in fewer than 12 hours.
IDEG has yet to announce how many assets under management it has to date.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.