Crypto Hedge Fund Tied to FTX Restarts Under New Name
LedgerPrime, a hedge fund focused on digital assets formerly associated with the defunct FTX empire, has reemerged with a new identity.
The MNNC Group, a hedge fund operating out of the Cayman Islands with multiple investment strategies, has secured funding from investors, including those who previously backed LedgerPrime, a subsidiary of Ledger Holdings. Ledger Holdings was acquired by FTX US in 2021. The exact amount of funding raised has not been disclosed.
Although MNNC Group didn’t manage to attract all of the investors from LedgerPrime, they have secured funding in the “mid-eight-figures” range, according to Shiliang Tang, the general partner and special advisor to MNNC Group. Tang chose not to reveal the precise amount because the capital hasn’t been entirely deployed to their current market neutral strategy fund and their forthcoming directional fund.
Laura Vidiella del Blanco, head of business development and strategy at MNNC Group, reported that the flagship quantitative market neutral strategy fund, launched in January, achieved approximately 4% returns by the end of the month. The launch of their new directional fund is anticipated for March.
Ayesha Kiani, chief operating officer at MNNC Group, mentioned, “Our track record is certainly a significant factor contributing to our success.” Additionally, she noted that their favorable position was also due to not being implicated in the issues with FTX. Kiani highlighted that they had returned external investments by September 2022.
In September 2022, LedgerPrime underwent a transformation into a family office serving FTX’s sister trading company, Alameda Research. Following the bankruptcy declarations of FTX and Alameda, LedgerPrime was compelled to cease its operations.
At present, MNNC Group employs 11 individuals, with most of them previously associated with LedgerPrime, including Vidiella del Blanco and Kiani. Johannes van Zeijts, the former Chief Technology Officer at LedgerPrime, has also transitioned to the new fund. Among the recent additions to MNNC Group’s team is Boris Iyutin, who comes from Tower Research Capital, a high-frequency trading firm. Iyutin will assume the role of chief investment officer, replacing Tang. Tang, Iyutin, and van Zeijts have a shared history of working together on a proprietary trading desk at Merrill Lynch.
Iyutin mentioned that the fund intends to recruit additional staff as it gears up to introduce its directional strategy and other upcoming strategies.
MNNC Group stated that at its highest point, LedgerPrime oversaw up to $400 million in total assets, achieving an average annualized return of approximately 40%.
Tang remarked that the current environment has been favorable for them, noting high volatility, funding rates, and DeFi yields. He described it as a generally robust environment reminiscent of the markets in 2021.
Zaheer Ebitkar, previously a portfolio manager at LedgerPrime, now leads the crypto fund Split Capital, joining the ranks of new funds originating from LedgerPrime.
