NYDIG Raises $720M for Institutional Bitcoin Fund

Despite bearish macro trends, investment management firm NYDIG says it has raised nearly $720 million for its Institutional Bitcoin Fund.

A total of 59 investors contributed to the raise, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing from Sept. 29 showed, although the regulator may not have reviewed the document, which could mean the raise isn’t over just yet.

In December, the bitcoin-focused financial services firm completed a $1 billion financing round led by WestCap. Other participants included Morgan Stanley, Bessemer Venture Partners and MassMutual.

NYDIG has withstood multiple SEC rejections against its proposal to list and trade spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Yet NYDIG, born in 2016, continues its mission to “make Bitcoin accessible to all” through products like bitcoin accounts, rewards and loyalty programs.

Earlier this year, it launched a benefit program allowing employees of participating companies to allocate a portion of their paychecks to bitcoin.

NYDIG fund raise comes with new CEO

NYDIG’s latest fundraising efforts come amid a reshuffling of senior leadership. On Monday, the group announced the departure of CEO Robert Gutmann and President Yan Zhao. 

Both will continue to work at the firm’s parent company Stone Ridge Holdings, which they co-founded with Ross Stevens in 2012.

NYDIG appointed global head of trading Tejas Shah to the position of CEO. Nate Conrad, formerly the global head of payments, was appointed to the President position.

Shah and Conrad will focus on expediting investments in NYDIG’s mining solutions franchise and boosting institutional bitcoin adoption via Layer-2 scaling project Lightning Network.

All things considered, NYDIG appears healthy at a turbulent time for the digital asset industry. NYDIG’s bitcoin balances hit an all-time high in the third quarter, up nearly 100% year-on-year, according to a statement released Monday. Revenue is up 130% through the second quarter, it added.

“When markets crumble, character emerges. A flight to quality from the most risk-aware institutional investors has relentlessly driven bitcoin, and revenue, to NYDIG the last 12 months,” Stevens wrote in a statement.

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