Fund managers specializing in cryptocurrencies are appealing for patience from investors, after a year in which huge falls in prices severely dented their performance. In a December letter to investors, San Francisco-based Pantera Capital admitted that 2018 had been “a difficult year for all cryptocurrencies and tokens”. “After such a prolonged drawdown in the market, it’s important to reflect and re-evaluate the thesis behind utility tokens,” wrote Mr. Morehead and Joey Krug, co-chief investment officer, in the letter. Galaxy Digital, a crypto and blockchain-focused merchant bank set up by Mike Novogratz, a former hedge fund trader, and Goldman Sachs partner, also found the going tough.
“The asset class continues to show signs of maturity, as headlines that once would have led to frenzied trading sessions have given way to patient market participants who want to see and react to results, not headlines,” Galaxy wrote in a November letter to investors. In November Mr. Novogratz told the FT that 2018 had been “ challenging” but he has predicted that financial institutions will move from investing in cryptocurrency funds to investing in cryptocurrencies themselves, early this year. “That’s when prices start moving again,” he said.
