Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum Bank and Starboard Digital have raised over 750 bitcoin worth more than $65 million at current prices, for its BTC investment vehicle.
The BTC Alpha Fund, offered by Sygnum in partnership with Starboard, is designed to generate returns on its bitcoin holdings without relying on price increases.
The Cayman Islands-domiciled fund delivered an annualized net return of 8.9% in its first full quarter following its debut last October. It aims for 8-10% annual BTC-denominated returns by capturing price differences between spot and derivative markets.
The fund avoids using systematic arbitrage strategies, meaning it exploits errors in asset prices on various exchanges to try to produce stable returns regardless of market conditions.
The strong early approaches point to growing demand among institutional investors for bitcoin strategies that generate income while maintaining long-term exposure, according to Markus Hämmerli, Sygum’s head of portfolio management.
The fund is open to professional investors in jurisdictions including Switzerland and Singapore.
Shares in the fund also qualify as collateral for Lombard loans through Sygnum, allowing investors to unlock liquidity without selling their bitcoin positions.
Sygnum partnered earlier this year with bitcoin lending startup Debifi to launch what the companies said was the first bank-backed lending platform that didn’t require borrowers to give up control of their BTC.
