The British hedge fund Marshall Wace intends to engage in cryptocurrency investments, the Financial Times writes, citing sources. The company has $55 billion under management and will focus on such areas as blockchain, payment systems for digital currencies and stablecoins. Marshall Wace will form a separate portfolio, which will include privately owned companies from the digital finance space at late stages of development.
The sources also said that the firm has recently been looking for employees with experience in the field of digital assets. Although the new Marshall Wace business is just beginning, the firm plans to quickly develop this direction and may add other forms of investment, for example, engage in cryptocurrency trading, the sources added. Marshall Wace declined to comment on the situation.
This year, the firm opened a specialized fund for investing in healthcare companies before their listing on the stock market. Thus, it expected to use additional sources of income in the private investment markets.
The new cryptocurrency division will practice a similar approach, making venture investments in well-established companies that provide infrastructure for the digital asset market. In particular, Marshall Wace is interested in initiatives related to stablecoins. The company is still negotiating with potential investors, and the size of the portfolio at the start is unknown. Marshall Wace has become one of the investors of the $440-million round to raise funding for the Circle firm behind the USDC stablecoin issue.
The results of a recent survey showed that hedge funds are ready to place up to 7.2% of their capital in cryptocurrencies by 2026.