18 Apr Flagship Renaissance fund dabbles with bitcoin
Renaissance Technologies’ flagship hedge fund Medallion has dipped its toes into the wild world of cryptocurrency trading, in a sign that the computer-driven investment group is willing to play in more esoteric markets to generate its industry-leading returns.
The $75bn hedge fund group disclosed in a regulatory filing that Medallion — a highly successful fund only open to Renaissance’s own employees — was dabbling in bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency.
While Renaissance said that it would limit its trading activities to cash-settled bitcoin futures traded on the CME, the Long Island-based investment group founded by former Cold War codebreaker Jim Simons stressed the risks of the nascent asset class.
“The underlying commodity for these futures transactions, bitcoin, is a relatively new and highly speculative asset,” Renaissance said in the filing. “Bitcoin and futures based on bitcoin are extremely volatile, and investment results may vary…