Goldman, Coinbase Back Crypto Fund Manager One River

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(Bloomberg) –

One River Digital Asset Management, a startup cryptocurrency fund manager backed by Alan Howard, has raised $ 41 million from new investors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Coinbase Global Inc.

The two companies acquired minority stakes in a Series A funding round that values ​​One River Digital at $ 186 million. Liberty Mutual Group Inc., the insurer, and Infinity Investment Partners, a London-based investment firm, also participated. Howard, the co-founder of Breven Howard Asset Management, provided seed funding for One River Digital last year.

What is clear is that asset management is going to make the transition to the tokenized world, said Eric Peters, founder and CEO of One River Digitals, in an interview. And in this world, the opportunity is so much greater. The question was: how to capitalize on this?

Today, One River Digital operates two main funds, one that owns Bitcoin and the other that owns Ethereum. Peters recently opened a third fund with a broader mandate and used it to invest in Solana, a decentralized IT platform with its own token. It plans at least two other products: an Ethereum stake fund and a crypto-lending vehicle that will generate income in dollars.

One River Digital, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, is also developing an index that will only include digital assets that meet institutional standards for liquidity, security, and decentralized ownership and function.

The roundtable was a rare opportunity in crypto. Most startups in the industry focus on solving technical problems or are involved in the creation or trading of tokens. One River Digital only deals with asset management for institutional investors such as pensions, endowments and sovereign wealth funds.

The rapid digitization potential of global finance presents both challenges and opportunities for investment organizations, Liberty Mutual chief investment officer Vlad Barbalat said in a statement. We are delighted to partner with the One River team, who bring in-depth institutional expertise.

The story continues

Goldman, Coinbase and Infinity declined to comment.

Peters founded One River Digital in 2020 as a subsidiary of One River Asset Management, which bets on market volatility. He quickly became one of the biggest investors in Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the value of his assets surged as both tokens hit record highs.

One River Digital has since taken in $ 1.25 billion and returned the money to investors. Its three cryptocurrency funds currently hold around $ 500 million.

Earlier this year, Peters recruited Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, as a member of the One River Digital advisory board.

Investing in One River Digital positions Goldman, Coinbase and Liberty Mutual as potential distributors or co-developers of its crypto products. Peters said his main concern in the fundraising cycle was recruiting the right partners.

All I care about is winning and doing it the right way, not making as much money as possible, he said.

(Corrected description of Infinity Investment Partners in second paragraph.)

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