Nearly half (47%) of traditional hedge funds surveyed this year have exposure to cryptocurrencies, up from 29% in 2023 and 37% in 2022, as increased clarity around regulations and the launch of exchange-traded funds in the U.S. and Asia draw more investors into the asset class, according to a new report by AIMA and PwC.
Among those already invested, 67% plan to maintain the same level of capital employed while the remaining 33% plan to invest more capital by the end of 2024.
43% of traditional hedge funds—whether invested or not in digital assets—are seeing increased interest from institutional clients. Currently, family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) remain the largest investor categories in digital asset focused hedge funds, followed by fund of funds.
“The findings from this year’s report indicate a steady recovery in confidence over the past year,” James Delaney, managing director of asset management regulation at AIMA, said in an interview. “It’s really the regulatory clarity that we started to see globally. That clarity is definitely boosting confidence in the asset class.”
The Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report examines the current state and evolution of the digital assets hedge fund market over the past year. The data contained in this report comes from a survey conducted by AIMA and PwC in Q2 2024 across a sample of close to 100 hedge funds from both traditional and digital asset focused hedge funds from over six geographical regions with an estimated aggregate of US$124.5 billion in asset under management (AUM).
The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) is the global representative of the alternative investment industry, with around 2,100 corporate members in over 60 countries.