Renowned American billionaire Steven A. Cohen is the latest name to invest in the crypto world. According to a report by Bloomberg, Cohen Private Ventures - the billionaire’s venture capital firm, has invested in Autonomous Partners, a hedge fund that focuses on both cryptocurrencies and blockchain company equities.
The fund was launched in December 2017 by Arianna Simpson, a cryptocurrency advocate, who confirmed the information through her Twitter account.
According to Bloomberg, Autonomous Partners is looking to invest in cryptocurrencies that “serve as general purpose money”.
https://twitter.com/AriannaSimpson/status/1017388856646209536
“I’ve only brought on partners that I think can be very much value-add beyond their capital,” Simpson said in an interview for Fortune. Simpson explained Autonomous Partners invests in Bitcoin and other large-cap altcoins, such as Ethereum. The fund has also attracted other investment partners such as Union Square (NYSE:SQ) Ventures, Brian Armstrong, and Co-Founder of Craft Ventures David Sacks.
Simpson has previously invested in 0x, a protocol that allows the creation of decentralized exchanges, and Celo, a platform for digital payments that aims to “remove the barriers for large-scale adoption of cryptocurrencies” as means of payment.
This is not the first time Cohen has partnered with Arianna Simpson. In 2015, Cohen Private Ventures invested in her venture fund Crystal Towers Capital, a fund which focuses on tech companies such as Next Caller and TrueAccord.
Steven Cohen is an American investor and hedge fund manager. According to Forbes, as of March 2018, his wealth is worth $14 billion. Cohen started investing at a young age in 1978 after he got a junior trader job at Wall Street.
US-based Cohen Private Ventures focuses on private equities, real estate, and other longer-term investments. It was established in 2010 by Cohen, who also runs Point72 Asset Management.
Cohen joins a long list of investors who were interested in the crypto industry. However, his foray into it comes at a troubling time for crypto-focused hedge funds. Only 8% of the top 25 funds have reported profits since the start of 2018, with many shutting down due to the massive losses. Most funds did not register double-digit returns until cryptocurrencies’ rebound in April this year.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
