A “crypto fund” is essentially an emulation of a legacy investment fund, where “funds” trade on users’ behalf.

Very much the legacy experience of having a broker position investors within a fund that trades whatever stock in trade they handle, a crypto fund buys and trades on users’ behalf without investors having to source, purchase and trade digital coins themselves.

Crypto funds are a relatively new phenomenon. In part due to the huge volatility and unknown nature of digital assets, the first crypto funds were a smash hit with digital coin enthusiasts. They have subsequently proven a valuable route for many wishing to invest in cryptocurrencies. In a fund, a portfolio manager or managers will buy into ICOs and existing coins in order to optimize gains, trading with the pool fund on behalf of investors.

The fund will guarantee gains to investors, in return taking a percentage of profits for their management efforts. For many, the chance to make higher profits when trading alone seems less worthwhile when a fund can produce decent returns while doing all the legwork involved.

As reported by fintech research outfit Autonomous Next, the latest estimate on the total number of crypto funds operating sits at 251, and they have some $3.5 – 5 billion in assets under management. Most crypto funds were founded during 2017 and 2018, and finding themselves in something of a window of opportunity, many have grown from strength to strength. The concept of a crypto fund is now an entrenched phenomenon worldwide.

1. Blueyard is a venture-focused crypto fund targeting ICOs and other promising decentralized startups. The German company operates as a traditional legacy fund, allowing investors to more safely invest in digital coins.

2. The Logos Fund takes a multifaceted approach, combining crypto investment in digital coins and ICOs with mining profits.

3. Polychain is a name not unknown in the cryptosphere, and the fund has been a steady and ambitious platform since inception. It is considered one of the most reputable crypto funds and a good port of call for most investors eyeing digital investment overall.

4. The Galaxy Digital Assets Fund is headed by bitcoin evangelist Mike Novogratz. The company employs a hybrid VC/hedge fund model to leverage crypto profits. New York-based Galaxy is also traded on Toronto’s TSX Venture Exchange.

5. ICONOMI is popular with newcomers, as it is elegantly laid out and trades across a wide range of cryptocurrencies.

6. Pollinate Capital is a hedge fund wholly focused on leveraging all things digital coins. The fund often appeals to legacy investors entering the cryptosphere, as the company has some former Wall Street and other celebrity names on the team. The company presents as a committed and professional trading concern.

7. Flipside Crypto is another professional offering,with a very dynamic approach to establishing crypto funds that appeals to seasoned traders and newcomers alike.

8. Science Inc. takes the approach of focusing on ICOs while providing constant access to new digital tokens. The fund selects tokens from a shortlist of “incubated portfolio companies.”

9. BitSpread is a nuanced and professional company, marrying itself into digital exchanges to provide a very appealing crypto fund for both newcomers and seasoned traders. In many ways, the fund presents as an ideal first step for new entrants to the cryptosphere.

10. The Alphabet Coin Fund is another polished offering that, much like Coinbase and some others have done in the digital exchange arena, has made a meal of bitcoin and a few other virtual currencies. The fund employs trading bots to target potential growth areas and moments.

11. Target Coin is a different model of fund, as it issues its own token, TGTCoin, that tokenizes profits from the company’s diverse investment in digital coins. Users enter an in-house token ecosystem, the tokens’ value being derived of crypto investments. Users are able to take quarterly profits and the pace here is measured but also upbeat, as the model has thus far paid dividends.

12. Mirach Capital is a legacy fund with diverse interests that include aviation and real estate. Their entrance into the crypto fund arena has appeal to more conservative legacy investors and also holds appeal for crypto enthusiasts who value a bit of an old school feel.

13. Metastable is a sleek fund pushing pure digital coin investment. The company also strategizes around digital currencies and presents as a legacy brokerage in many ways, although site intel is minimal in comparison.

14. Pantera Capital is another aggressively pro-blockchain fund. Unlike Metastable, however, the fund generates profits not only from digital coins, but also investment in other blockchain projects.

15. BlockTower Capital is a diversified fund trading on digital coin markets that it deems profitable. Not very transparent, the company currently presents as a relative unknown and the site simply directs users to send the fund an email.

16. FBG Capital presents as even less online, but user comments glimpsed online (including a Forbes profile calling the outfit the “Hottest Crypto Traders”) denote the fund’s team as savvy and wide awake to the digital coin markets. Although so minimal online, the fund is may be one of the sleeker offers on the market.

17. Blackmoon Crypto is another professional offering where user crypto portfolios are diversified and linked to investment fund performance. Presenting as a legacy-inspired model, the fund appeals to investors of all shapes and sizes.

18. BlockStack follows a more direct model, being a fund within or even encompassing a blockchain development ecosystem.

19. ConsenSys Ventures is an Ethereum-focused collaboration of technologists and other developers, deriving value from the copious Ethereum blockchain development and dapp potential.

20. BB Fund stands for the “Based on Blockchain” fund and the Singapore concern is essentially a VC outfit, focused on promising blockchain ventures.

21. Tezos is the blockchain governance team focused on implementing the tezos protocol and building its own blockchain ecosystem. Having raised some $232 million in its ICO, the fund is both VC exploration and in-house value generator.

22. Finshi Capital is another blockchain-focused VC outfit deriving profit from investing in promising projects as well as coins. Very popular with a certain segment of enthusiasts, the fund allows users to buy in with as little as one dollar.

23. Astronaut Capital is probably the ideal site for newcomers and institutionally-minded investors. Very much a legacy model with detailed and extensive research backing investments, the fund’s traditional approach of detailed technical analysis coupled with tested strategies makes Astronaut Capital a professional, logical and welcoming platform for many investors.

24. The Auryn Capital offer is another simple landing page online, where users can either continue with registration or view the Facebook group. The fund is essentially trading a spread of crypto assets and is not ideal for newcomers, geared as it is towards professional and other serious investors.

25. Blockchain Capital is a reputable fund that has the stated focus of developing blockchain projects and currencies, either through VC funding or investor trading of existing digital assets. Another reputable concern, the platform is one of the more dynamic blockchain funds around.

The above list is far from exhaustive, but investors are cautioned to retain legacy investment protocols. Doing one’s own homework, practising due diligence and satisfying the same or similar criteria before engaging with a crypto fund remain paramount, just as in the legacy arena.

For newcomers, the safest models and the ones that most closely align with their understanding and desires of the crypto markets, namely those that trade a spread of digital coins. The more users reach into VC concerns and other funds that become further removed from actual digital coin trading, the higher the risks for novices.

That said, many funds that invest solely in blockchain startups may well outperform coin-centric ones. For most newcomers, however, the simplest spread on cryptos is still best, while those with an appetite for diversified investments can shop around for a fund that matches their enthusiasm and longer-term expectations.

406 +