Crypto Firms Successfully Poaching Top Wall Street Talents

There seems to be an emerging trend of seasoned and experienced finance professionals on Wall Street making the transition to the cryptocurrency space. With more large-scale shakeups in the financial market brought about by dwindling fortunes, some Wall Street veterans are moving to the emerging crypto market.

The shift comes as Pantera Capital, a cryptocurrency and blockchain hedge fund company, announced the hiring of William Healy. The announcement was made February 20, 2018. William Healy is the former managing director of Deutsche Bank. As announced by Pantera Capital, Mr. Healy will join the company’s West Coast office headquarters as President of the fund. The appointment takes effect on March 1, 2018.

In a statement by William Healy, he acknowledged that the financial market was going through a transformative time. He went to say that the emerging cryptocurrency market represented a shift from alternative asset management to a more institutional management approach.

Healy brings to Pantera Capital, a wealth of experience garnered from his many years in the financial market. He co-founded the Hedge Fund Priority Client Group of Deutsche Bank. The investor letter published by Pantera as part of the announcement on Tuesday also documented the vital role he played in establishing the bank’s U.S. hedge fund strategy.

Pantera Capital Launches Third Blockchain VC Fund

Dan Morehead, the CEO of Pantera Capital, said that the company has been able to secure 95 limited partners in February alone. This represents a massive increase, considering that it took a decade to secure the first 95 investors in the company. The company which has an asset pool of about $724 million also recently announced it will be launching their third blockchain-based venture fund.

The new fund will focus on machine learning, fintech, artificial intelligence, and peer-to-peer transactions. The first fund blockchain-based fund launched by the company has grown by almost 800 percent. It was launched in 2013 and it focuses on companies like Ripple, Bitstamp, and Xapo.

Pantera is not the only blockchain firm to have recently attracted a Wall Street veteran as Bitwise also announced the hiring of Matt Hougan. Bitwise is an asset management firm, and it is touted as being the managers of the first cryptocurrency index fund. The announcement to hire Matt Hougan as the Vice President of Research and Development at Bitwise was also made on February 20. Matt Hougan is the former CEO of ETF.com and Inside ETFs.

Speaking on the announcement, Hunter Horsley, the CEO of Bitwise said that many Wall Street veterans are interested in the emerging crypto market and are intrigued by the promise of a new and exciting asset class. He further went on to say that the cryptocurrency space is not just for the younger tech-savvy people but also from people in more traditional financial markets. He made the observation on the back of the fact that applications that have been received by Bitwise show that many experienced veterans of the financial market are looking critically at the crypto market and the potential opportunities available.