European hedge fund manager Brevan Howard has announced a broader expansion of its cryptocurrency business. At the center of the move is BH Digital, a recently created unit that is expected to manage the firm’s cryptocurrency and digital asset activities.
New unit signals deeper crypto commitment
Alongside the launch of BH Digital, Brevan Howard said it would hire Colleen Sullivan, currently chief executive of the digital division at trading firm CMT, to lead private and venture investments in crypto. The appointment suggests the firm is looking beyond trading alone and building exposure across a wider digital asset investment stack.
Institutional participation keeps building
Brevan Howard, long known for macro-driven investing, is the latest major hedge fund to deepen its presence in crypto markets. The report also pointed to other prominent money managers, including Paul Tudor and Man Group, which trades bitcoin futures, as further evidence that institutional investors are steadily increasing their exposure to the sector.
That trend is supported by industry data. An annual report from Price Waterhouse Coopers, the Alternative Investment Management Association, and Elwood Asset Management found that global crypto hedge fund assets under management nearly doubled to $3.8 billion in 2020, up from $2 billion a year earlier.
Crypto moves further into the mainstream
Stuart Cole, chief macroeconomist at London-based Equiti Capital, said cryptocurrencies were once viewed as a fad but are now increasingly seen as a more durable part of the financial landscape. In his view, that shift is helping previously fringe instruments become more mainstream and is driving the institutional demand now emerging.
Still, the report noted that adoption is uneven across the financial industry. While hedge funds and exchanges are moving quickly to capture trading revenues, major global banks have remained more cautious, even as wealth management clients continue pressing for access to crypto trading services.