Whales don’t come too much bigger than Steven A. Cohen. The hedge fund manager, investor and philanthropist runs venture capital firm Cohen Private Ventures and is the founder of Stamford, Connecticut based Point72 Asset Management and SAC Capital Advisors. The “Hedge Fund King” has an estimated net worth of some $13 billion, putting him in the top 30 richest individuals in the US. So when the crypto community discusses an influx of “institutional” capital as the likely impetus for the next bull run, Cohen is precisely the type of individual they might have in mind. Reports that Cohen is investing with Arianna Simpson’s crypto-focused hedge fund Autonomous Partners will therefore be music to the ears of many in the crypto community.
Autonomous was launched just six months ago, but Simpson’s track record in crypto is a long one. She was an early advocate of Bitcoin and other digital currencies and worked for a period at crypto wallet provider BitGo. Whilst it does invest in the larger coins, Autonomous’ raison d’etre is finding and supporting smaller projects and start-ups, the next-gen cryptos that will shape the space in years to come. Simpson has already secured investment from a host of high-level players including Union Square Ventures and Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, so Cohen Private Ventures join an elite group of market-makers at the pioneering fund.
Discussing Autonomous Partners’ role, Simpson focused on the impact of regulation on the crypto markets, noting that the space is “still waiting for a bit more clarity” before the wider community of institutional investors can move in. It’s still early days for hedge funds in crypto. Though there are over 250 funds offering digital assets to their investors, over 170 of these firms were founded as recently as 2017. Players like Cohen entering the space is a clear sign of wider adoption to come.
