The cryptocurrency family offices

The sometimes crazy, but often wonderful, world of cryptocurrencies is making some individuals very rich, albeit in arguably a very volatile way – and below is a list of the top 25 wealthiest. But how many of these newly minted crypto-multi-millionaires and billionaires have investment offices? Not many, with Winklevoss Capital being the most obvious exception. 

In the past, Family Capital has looked at family offices that have invested in cryptocurrencies and blockchain. But these days, as the asset class becomes more mainstream, millions are being made from cryptocurrencies and the platforms associated with them – and gradually these cryptocurrency multi-millionaires are themselves linked to family/private investment offices. 

With the exception of Winklevoss Capital, that’s had plenty written about itself on this platform and others, here is a list of some of the family offices and their owners most linked to the cryptocurrency boom.

Apeiron Investment Group

German Christian Angermayer is one of the world’s more unconventional investors – loving quirky biotech and, of course, cryptocurrencies. He uses his Malta-based investment offices Apeiron Investment Group, Cryptology Asset Group, and New York City-based venture group Presight Capital to do his bidding. He’s a big proponent of cryptocurrencies at all levels, believing their rise to prominence is a result of the failure of politicians in the US and Europe. Follow his Twitter feed to get an inkling of his thinking on cryptocurrencies.   

EOZ Global

Zoe Cruz, one of the most successful women on Wall Street and dubbed the “Cruz missile” by her former boss at Morgan Stanley, the bank’s ex-CEO John Mack, for her tough management style, Cruz set up her family office back in 2013 just as the bitcoin hype was really getting started. Cruz has made a lot of money from the asset class and a big proponent of it. She also sits on the board of Ripple, the cryptocurrency and payments platform. 

Galaxy Investment Partners

Outside of Winkelvoss Capital, financier Michael Novogratz’s investment group Galaxy Investment Partners might be the next best-known of the family office-type institutions committed to cryptocurrencies. Novogratz, an ex-Goldman Sachs and hedge fund manager, got the cryptocurrency bug soon after he left Fortress Investments in 2015. He claims he made huge profits from his holdings of Bitcoin and Ethereum, which were channelled through Galaxy. His New York City-based investment group has since gone on to invest in a whole host of cryptocurrency-linked ventures, but also into other areas as well.  

Mimesis Capital

Based in Taiwan, Mimesis Capital is the investment office of the Liu family, where family member Louis Liu is chief investment officer. Liu is a big convert to cryptocurrencies, believing that family offices should have a much as 15% commitment in their portfolios to the asset class. He has compared bitcoin to a Leonardo da Vinci portrait, telling Family Capital last year: “A Leonardo is very scarce. And so is bitcoin, because there can never be more than 21 million.”

Nikolajsen Capital

Niklas Nikolajsen, the co-founder of Bitcoin Suisse, a crypto-financial broker and service provider, set up his family office, Nikolajsen Capital, in 2018 on the back of his success in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin Suisse, where Nikolajsen is chairman, has since gone on to become one of the biggest crypto-financial services groups in Europe. 

Off The Chain Capital

Set up as a family office by and for Brian Estes, a so-called Bitcoin OG, or “Orginal Gangster” in bitcoin, ie, a very early convert to the cryptocurrency, Off The Chain Capital has since launched funds to entice other investors. This includes a fund it closed at the end of last year after gain record amounts of commitments from investors. Off the Chain also has Matthew Roszak (see below), the billionaire co-founder of Bloq, on its board.

Social Capital  

The Sri Lankan-born software engineer and venture investor Chamath Palihapitiya, told his family office Social Capital to buy bitcoin back in 2010. That investment helped him become a multi-billionaire. But Canadian and American citizen has an ambiguous relationship with cryptocurrencies, saying recently: “If your bet on Bitcoin pays off, it will be destructive to the world. And it will have huge consequences for many people we all know and are dear to us and who were not covered by Bitcoin.” 

Tally Capital

Matthew Roszak’s investment office Chicago-based Tally Capital has a sizable portfolio of cryptocurrency and blockchain assets. Hardly surprising given the billionaire made his money in the sector, co-founding the listed and highly successful blockchain technology company, Bloq, in 2015.  

Tsangs Group

A Hong Kong-based investment office of the Tsang family, Tsangs Group has embraced cryptocurrencies and blockchain with enthusiasm. The family office set up a subsidiary Block T Ventures in 2018 just as bitcoin peaked before its crash at the end of the year. Tsangs Group says it set up Block T: ‘to invest into new technology, protocols, software, aligned with decentralized and tokenized projects.” 

Unicorn Ventures

If they ever make a film about some of the weird and wonderful characters in the world of cryptocurrencies, then Brock Piere would be one of them. The former child actor, shareholder in the bankrupt and controversial Digital Entertainment Network, and an independent candidate in last year’s US presidential election, Piere, 40, has packed a lot into his life so far. And cryptocurrencies have been a big part of his life and success. He channels his investments through his Puerto Rico-based investment office Unicorn Ventures. 

Yeoman’s Capital

Zurich-based American cryptocurrency investor David Johnson set up Yeoman’s Capital, his family office, in 2016 to help diversify his investments in the cryptocurrency world and dabble in other sectors as well. On his LinkedIn profile, he describes Yeoman’s as his personal family office, but has set up a fund linked to the group a few years ago, which Family Capital looked into in more detail. 

The Richest People in Crypto

Source: Traders of Crypto