Other industry highlights:

• Newly Launched Vol Options Strat Exceeds Triple Digit Returns

• Luxembourg Based Quant Fund to Enhance Returns with new Instrument Selection Algo

…but first let’s raise a glass to this month’s sponsor 🥂

ML Tech is a non-custodial investment platform that uniquely provides optimized blended portfolios and bespoke products tailored to meet all investment objectives and risk appetites.

Investors can gain access to a curated array of delta neutral, market neutral and beta trading strategies via the ML Tech platform.

In October, ML Tech saw an increase to about $100M in AUM from more than 20 institutional investors, with AUM projected to double early next year.

ML Tech's TS3 - Statistical Arbitrage strategy was recently featured in BarclayHedge’s monthly performance ranking for its outperformance in the cryptocurrency category. To learn more about TS3 and other crypto quantitative strategies, you can register for access to the platform here.

Stay on top of the latest news and insights by following us on LinkedIn and X.

____________

^{🗞 Allocator Developments 🗞}

Multi-Family Office Secures Landmark Raise for a Leading Blockchain Fund of Funds — Lennertz & Co., a MFO founded in 2015, seeks to raise $165M for its third crypto-focused vehicle. Lennertz plans to invest in eight to ten blockchain-focused venture capital funds.

SFO Actively Deploying to Crypto VC Funds — Ludwig Schroedl’s (LS&C) single-family office is reallocating to sub $25M crypto VC funds. The firm has been actively investing in crypto since 2016.

Seed Stage Fund Launches with Notable Anchors — Meltem Demirors, former Chief Strategy Officer of $7.3B AUM Coinshares, launches $50M AUM Crucible Capital anchored by Laser Digital and Welara, a crypto native MFO.

Alternatives Focused MFO Brings on VP of Alternatives — MeetPerry, a MFO alternatives platform, appoints Chad Weinstein as VP of Alternatives. Weinstein was previously the PM of Phoenix Holdings’ pension fund third-party manager division.

FTX Pension Fund Whale Brings on new Director — Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), appoints Dennis Zhenyu Luo as Director of External Managers. OTPP said it was staying clear of crypto after losing $95M in FTX.

Former Swiss FO C-Suite Launches MFT Multi-Manager — Luca Toscani, former COO of a Swiss FO, and Joseph Cox, former Head of BD at a HFT crypto fund, launch Valmar Capital. Valmar will invest in MFT trading strategies targeting 30-40% annualized returns with a Sharpe ratio of 3.

VC FoF Completes Roadshow — The Amitis Group completes fundraising roadshow with the help of Mainstrait, a consulting firm for capital markets access, fintech strategy and M&A. The Amitis Group offers a Diversified FoF investing across early-stage VC, liquid token funds and market neutral strategies.

____________

🔥 What’s Hot in Crypto 🔥

Newly Launched Vol Options Strat Exceeds Triple Digit Returns

Active Digital, a crypto quant fund founded in 2020, recently launched Active Vol Arbitrage, a strategy designed to capitalize on the dislocation between implied and realized volatility in crypto options. In just three months, the strategy has achieved a Sharpe ratio above 9 and a CAGR exceeding 500%, with a maximum drawdown kept under 4%. The strategy accepts contributions in USDT, as well as in-kind contributions in BTC and ETH.

Active Digital attributes these returns to three main factors: advanced modeling, rigorous downside risk management, and a priority on executing hedge positions to test market liquidity.

With the addition of Active Vol Arbitrage, Active Digital now manages $30M in AUM across four distinct strategies. These include Active Basis, a mid-frequency arbitrage strategy focusing on funding rates in liquid cryptocurrencies; Active Trend, an automated long/short strategy that uses volatility targeting for position sizing and risk management; and Active Multi-Strategy, which combines both Active Basis and Active Trend in a 70/30 allocation.

The firm was founded by Douggie Melville-Clarke, a 15-year Wall Street veteran who pioneered real-time derivatives exception management at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, and Jesse Smythe, a former multi-strategy portfolio manager and FX prop trader.

____________

Luxembourg Based Quant Fund to Enhance Returns with new Instrument Selection Algo

Turing Capital, a digital asset hedge fund based in Luxembourg, is set to enhance its asset allocation strategies with the addition of a new underlying basis trade and funding rate arbitrage strategy. Founded in 2021, Turing Capital operates two primary investment products: Turing Crypto Growth(TCG) and Turing Crypto Neutral (TCN).

TCG is a long-biased strategy that seeks to capture alpha by selecting valuable crypto assets and adjusting allocations based on macro trends and multifactorial quantitative analysis. On the other hand, TCN is a market-neutral strategy aiming to deliver consistent, low-volatility returns regardless of market conditions. Unlike typical market-neutral strategies, TCN is not purely arbitrage-based; instead, it takes long positions in top-performing tokens and simultaneously shorts underperforming ones. Since its launch in 2022, TCN has shown strong performance, with returns of 27.76% in 2022, 13.33% in 2023, and 16.47% so far this year.

Turing Capital is finalizing an algorithm to enable both strategies to arbitrage funding rates and inter-exchange prices on the assets their allocations hold. Simulations indicate that this algorithm could add several hundred basis points per year in additional returns by leveraging market inefficiencies.

Turing Capital was founded by Jorge Schnura, a serial tech entrepreneur, and Javier Garay, a former venture capitalist turned entrepreneur. Both founders have been personally invested in crypto since 2012 and 2013, respectively. The firm manages $9M in AUM and approximately half is the founding teams own capital. The firm now has a team of eight members.

____________

🍿 Blockchain Bytes 🍿

• Snutx Venture Capital, the VC arm of Snutx Cryptocurrency Exchange, launches $200M fund to invest in the crypto trading market, payment system technologies, and AI startups integrating crypto (GlobeNewswire)

• $4.6B AUM Pantera Capital to to launch fifth VC fund in 2025, offering co-investment options to LPs with commitments of $25M or more with a $1B target (Crypto.News)

• VanEck, the $89.5B asset manager, launches VanEck Ventures, a $30M early-stage fund to invest in fintech, crypto, and AI — Expects to make 25 to 35 investments an average check size of $1M (VanEck Ventures)

• Skycatcher Onchain Fund, a liquid token fund using fundamental valuation to drive asymmetric returns, quantifies long-term value drivers and implied expectations for Layer 1 tokens with new research paper (Skycatcher)

• Of 53 liquid fundamental funds with over $2B AUM, data shows fundraising discussions are the strongest in 6 months. Only 13% reported capital inflows greater than $1M in October — Powered by Crypto Insights Group (CIG)

• In an email sent to investors, Portal Ventures Fund II sees oversubscription with $85M in demand with a $75M hardcap —More than 50% of Portal’s committed capital comes from FoFs & endowments with the remainder primarily from US SFOs (Portal.vc)

• DNA Fund sees a $50M bump in AUM after acquiring Coral Capital, a DeFi native hedge fund which managed high-yield hedge funds and venture funds within DeFi (GlobeNewswire)

• $10M AUM Blackbox Digital, which manages a general blockchain fund, an Ethereum staking fund and DeFi fund, rebrands as Carpathian Crypto (Carpathian Crypto)

• An investor close to North Rock Digital announces the +$100M hedge fund has closed — North Rock has removed both their Twitter and their company website (North Rock Digital)

• Lisbon-based Indico Capital Partners raises €76M for its Indico VC Fund II, with a €50M commitment from Banco Português de Fomento (vestbee)

There’s way more alpha than we can squeeze into a single CFW issue. Catch all the extra insights on our new LinkedIn page!

_{Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only. The information provided in this newsletter is not intended to solicit any type of investment. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, and you should not rely on it as such. Any action you take based on the information presented is at your own risk. We make no representation or warranty, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the newsletter or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the newsletter for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this newsletter.}