Much like their students, one-third of whom are bigger fans of cryptocurrencies than of traditional shares and bonds, universities in the US have taken to investing in cryptocurrency hedge funds, according to a lawyer who spoke to Business Insider.
“We’re seeing some academic institutions getting involved on a limited basis for strategic reasons. I can’t say the names of [the universities] because that’s attorney-client [privilege], but we have people mostly on the East Coast that have begun doing investments in this space on a fairly modest basis,” said John Lore, founder of Capital Fund Law Group.
The New York legal firm specializes mostly in equity law services for hedge funds, real estate funds, and private equity funds. It more recently started specializing in cryptocurrency hedge funds, with over 30 clients in this area and even providing an online portal for consulting those who want to start their own.
Lore claims that most of the investment into these hedge funds come from individuals with lots of capital to swing around.
“Yes there are investors but at this point, investors are putting in very small percentages of their net worth as we would expect and as I believe is appropriate,” he added.
He also said that he doesn’t believe that we can expect pension funds or other institutional investors to get involved in cryptocurrencies for now, citing the fact that it’s still a regulatory gray area. On the other hand, university endowment funds may consider this a lucrative market.
“We see academia as a tie between these somewhat young and enthusiastic fund managers and capital raising,” Lore said.
Academia is getting involved in more than cryptocurrencies, however. Blockchain technology is rising as an area of study. Just recently, Ripple set up a brand new $50 million fund with the intention of helping universities research blockchain technology. The R&D should also go into some cryptocurrency projects, opening up the possibility of a university-made coin.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
