World largest hedge fund reportedly launches a crypto fund

Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund globally, plans to invest in the buzzing cryptocurrency sector. Reports state that the hedge fund is not planning a direct investment into cryptocurrencies.

Bridgewater Associates is the largest hedge fund globally. The hedge fund has $150 billion in assets under management (AUM). The founder of this hedge fund, Ray Dalio, is already a cryptocurrency investor, as he has personal Bitcoin (BTC/USD) holdings.

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Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater invests in a crypto fund

The size of Bridgewater’s crypto fund will be significantly small compared to the company’s total AUM. A source noted that popular crypto investors were already engaging in talks to invest in the fund. Other sources familiar with the matter have also said that Bridgewater is scheduled to enter the crypto space mid this year.

However, the company is yet to go public with its crypto plans. Despite these reports confirming its plans for the cryptocurrency sector, a Bridgewater representative has said that,

While we won’t comment on our positions, we can say Bridgewater continues to actively research crypto, but it is not currently planning on investing in crypto.

Earlier this year, the hedge fund released a report addressing the institutional cryptocurrency trends. The sources providing information on Bridgewater’s crypto plans are vague, but there have been estimations on when these products will be launched.

In February, one of the sources said,

Bridgewater is in a first-half plan this year. They’re planning on having a small slug of their fund deployed directly into digital assets.

Ray Dalio invests in crypto

Ray Dalio has confirmed that he owns Bitcoin as a personal investment. The billionaire has even compared Bitcoin to gold, noting that it was an alternative to physical gold for the younger generation.

In December last year, Dalio praised Bitcoin saying, “It has been an amazing accomplishment for Bitcoin to have achieved what it has done, from writing that program, not being hacked, having it work and having it adopted the way it has been.”

Despite the growth of Bitcoin, Dalio noted that he was also concerned about governments outlawing the coin as it could undermine the government’s control over the financial sector.