Stone Ridge Asset Management Joins MicroStrategy and Square, Holds $115 Million in Bitcoin

Institutional participation in Bitcoin (BTC) continues to be on a steep rise over the last few months. Today, October 13, Stone Ridge Asset Management announced that it is holding over 10,000+ BTC worth more than $115 million. The announcement comes as Stone Ridge parent NYDIG raised over $50 million in growth equity funding.

With more than $10+ billion of assets under management (AUM), NYDIG is a leading financial advisor for institutions and insurance companies. The press release notes that the $100+ million Bitcoin investment comes as part of its treasury reserve strategy. Robert Gutmann, co-founder and CEO of NYDIG, said:

“As Bitcoin transitions to a predominantly institutionally-owned asset, NYDIG is better positioned than ever to be the leading provider of Bitcoin solutions to corporations, institutions, and banks. We are proud to have facilitated one of the largest commitments of treasury assets to Bitcoin announced to date, and see demand for our full suite of corporate treasury and investment solutions accelerating.”

With its latest disclosure, Stone Ridge has joined other players like Square and MicroStrategy who announced several million dollars worth of fresh investments in Bitcoin. NYDIG’s executive chairman Ross Stevens said that they have always considered Bitcoin “superior” to cash. Adopting the Bitcoin Standard to its corporate treasury solutions will be invaluable to other companies, said Stevens. He further added: “As the Fed’s balance sheet has increased $3 trillion since the beginning of 2019, the U.S. dollar has depreciated 70% against BTC.”

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Remains Stable Around $11,386

Currently, the NYDIG manages two large Bitcoin funds. The Bitcoin Fund LP worth around $190 million and the Bitcoin Yield Enhancement Fund LP worth $140 million. Apart from Bitcoin, it also has exposure to cryptocurrencies with other small basket funds like ETH, LTC, XRP, and BCH.

Despite the latest disclosure, the BTC price hasn’t reacted much so far. At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $11,386 with a market cap of $210 billion. One thing is sure that amid the global market uncertainty, Bitcoin continues to drive institutional interest. Industry experts chipped in noting that this might not be the right time to sell BTC.

If you sell your BTC now, just know that your counterparty is probably some multi-billion asset manager, from whom you'll buy the BTC back 2 years from now at a much higher price.

— Qiao Wang (@QwQiao) October 13, 2020