Lantern Ventures, a London-based proprietary trading firm founded by some former members of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research, is winding down its funds after seven years of operation, according to two people familiar with the plans.
The crypto investment firm is in the process of returning capital to investors and closing its external funds, a person familiar with the situation said. A number of the hedge fund’s employees are likely to lose their jobs, according to another person.
The firm is said to have been in talks with potential buyers. Other alternatives include relaunching under a family office structure.
At its peak, Lantern, run by crypto trader and former Alameda co-founder Tara Mac Aulay, had over $600 million in assets under management. Mac Auley declined to comment.
An affiliate called Pharos USD Fund SP, a Cayman Islands-based investment fund, was listed as Celsius’ largest single creditor at the start of the crypto lender’s bankruptcy proceedings in 2022, with a claim of around $80 million.
Before becoming a full-time trader, Mac Aulay was the executive director of the Center for Effective Altruism, a philanthropic project that FTX chief Bankman-Fried was also aligned with.
Lantern was also founded on philanthropic principles, with 50% of the founder’s profits being donated to high-impact charities.
The Oct. 10 crypto market crash made institutional fundraising a more difficult issue these days, many people said.
