Tag: Nydig

One-third of Staff Laid Off in Digital Investment Group NYDIG: WSJ

by Blockchain News

New York-based digital investment group NYDIG laid off nearly a third of its workforce, about 110 people in total, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources with the matter on Thursday.

The layoffs have been conducted for about “a few weeks,” according to three people familiar with the matter, with company executives issuing formal notices of layoffs on September 22.

Bitcoin trading and banking firm NYDIG said the layoffs were part of a quest to cut spending and narrow its focus to more promising businesses.

NYDIG is a full-service, vertically integrated Bitcoin-only financial services company.

On October 3, NYDIG announced that CEO Robert Gutman and President Zhao Yan had stepped down, and NYDIG executives Tejas Shah and Nate Conrad took over as CEO and President, respectively.

Retiring Robert Gutman and Zhao Yan will return to Stone Ridge Holdings Group, the parent company of NYDIG.

Stone Ridge was founded in 2012 by current CEO Ross Stevens. In 2017, the founder launched the Bitcoin-driven New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), where he serves as executive chairman.

“The firm’s balance sheet is the strongest it’s ever been, and now we’re investing aggressively into a capital-starved market,” said Stevens.

On September 13, Stone Ridge Asset Management, a global asset management firm based in New York, announced plans to liquidate and dissolve its Stone Ridge Bitcoin Strategy Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

As of October 3, New York-based digital investment group NYDIG said it had raised $720 million for its institutional bitcoin fund, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / /

NYDIG has Raised $720 Million for its Institutional Bitcoin Fund

by Blockchain News

As of Oct. 3, New York-based digital investment group NYDIG said it has raised $720 million for its institutional bitcoin fund, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Only 59 investors contributed, with each contributing more than $12 million to the financing on average, suggesting these were wealthy individuals or companies.

The number is the largest since the peak of institutional investors in or around December 2020, when they bought about $1 billion worth of bitcoin each week.

According to the press release, NYDIG’s bitcoin balances “increased nearly 100% year over year, and revenue rose 130% in the second quarter.”

NYDIG stated that “While Bitcoin continues to trade lower during 2022, the company holds more Bitcoin than ever before.”

The filing emphasizes that the SEC has not necessarily reviewed the information in the filing while determining its accuracy and completeness.

NYDIG, in particular, is promoting cooperation among institutional investors. According to the firm’s forecast, the firm expects its assets under management (AUM) for institutional investors to exceed $25 billion, as many corporate buyers turn to the firm for their bitcoin investment needs.

It is reported that NYDIG is a subsidiary of Stone Ride Holdings and has a long-term cooperative relationship with traditional financial institutions.

According to a September SEC filing, Stone Ridge said it expects to liquidate the bitcoin futures fund next month, on Oct. 21, and from Nov. 3, shares in the fund will not be available for purchase. The advisor will reduce the Fund’s holdings to cash in preparation for the liquidation date. Proceeds from the liquidation of the fund are expected to be distributed to shareholders in the form of cash.

The liquidation proceeds are expected to be distributed promptly after the liquidation date to fully redeem each shareholder’s shares of the fund.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / / /

Stone Ridge Shutting down Bitcoin Futures Fund, Returning Money to Investors

by Blockchain News

Stone Ridge Asset Management, a global asset management firm based in New York, announced Monday plans to liquidate and dissolve its Stone Ridge Bitcoin Strategy Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to an SEC filing, Stone Ridge said it expects to liquidate the Bitcoin Futures Fund next month, October 21, and from November 3, shares of the funds will not be available to purchase.

“The adviser will reduce the Fund to cash in preparation for the Liquidation Date. Proceeds of the liquidation of the Fund are expected to be distributed to shareholders in cash. The liquidation proceeds are expected to be distributed promptly following the Liquidation Date in full redemption of each shareholder’s shares of the Fund,” the filing said.

The shutdown comes as the Fund launched in late 2019 with a strategy to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) via futures contracts, failing to find interest from investors. Currently, the Fund holds only about $2.3 million in assets under management.

The Fund likely faced obstacles not just from the Bitcoin bear market but also SEC approval of several competing Bitcoin Futures ETFs, at least some of which charged fees less than the Stone Ridge product.

Stone Ridge was founded in 2012 by current CEO Ross Stevens. In 2017, the founder launched the Bitcoin-driven New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), where he serves as executive chairman.

Stone Ridge Asset Management and NYDIG are both Stone Ridge Holdings Group subsidiaries. NYDIG is a full-service, vertically integrated Bitcoin-only financial services company.

Market Struggles to Recover

This year, Bitcoin ETFs have not been as good investments as expected. And the same scenario is being seen in stocks in the S&P 500 (such as Netflix (NFLX), Under Armour (UAA), Ceridian HCM (CDAY), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Epam Systems (EPAM), among others) whose performance also turned worse this year.

This year, inflation crises have tremendously impacted the economy and the stock market globally. The $822.9-million-in-assets ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF is one of the major ways most investors use ETFs to gain exposure to cryptocurrency.

As of June, the largest Bitcoin ETF, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy, was down 53.6% this year. Such discouraging performance shows the underappreciated risk of the new asset class because most investors were not prepared to face hard questions like What would happen during a market crash? Or What would happen if a crypto exchange company went bankrupt?’

And that makes total sense, as it tracks the price of Bitcoin. Bitcoin price itself is down more than 50% this year.

ProShares Bitcoin Strategy is not just the largest Bitcoin ETF that is suffering. The entire crypto ETF universe is not doing well this year.

And the ETFs that own big positions in Bitcoin-based companies are underperforming. The First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF, which puts a bigger piece of its portfolio in Coinbase than any other ETF, is down 69% this year.

Despite the low performance of ETFs, the industry is still pushing for the launch of more Bitcoin ETFs. Several firms have filed with the SEC to get approval to launch their spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Grayscale has been pushing for the SEC to approve their request to convert their Bitcoin trust into a spot ETF.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / / /

Stone Ridge Shuting down Bitcoin Futures Fund, Returning Money to Investors

by Blockchain News

Stone Ridge Asset Management, a global asset management firm based in New York, announced Monday plans to liquidate and dissolve its Stone Ridge Bitcoin Strategy Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to an SEC filing, Stone Ridge said it expects to liquidate the Bitcoin Futures Fund next month, October 21, and from November 3, shares of the funds will not be available to purchase.

“The adviser will reduce the Fund to cash in preparation for the Liquidation Date. Proceeds of the liquidation of the Fund are expected to be distributed to shareholders in cash. The liquidation proceeds are expected to be distributed promptly following the Liquidation Date in full redemption of each shareholder’s shares of the Fund,” the filing said.

The shutdown comes as the Fund launched in late 2019 with a strategy to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) via futures contracts, failing to find interest from investors. Currently, the Fund holds only about $2.3 million in assets under management.

The Fund likely faced obstacles not just from the Bitcoin bear market but also SEC approval of several competing Bitcoin Futures ETFs, at least some of which charged fees less than the Stone Ridge product.

Stone Ridge was founded in 2012 by current CEO Ross Stevens. In 2017, the founder launched the Bitcoin-driven New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), where he serves as executive chairman.

Stone Ridge Asset Management and NYDIG are both Stone Ridge Holdings Group subsidiaries. NYDIG is a full-service, vertically integrated Bitcoin-only financial services company.

Market Struggles to Recover

This year, Bitcoin ETFs have not been as good investments as expected. And the same scenario is being seen in stocks in the S&P 500 (such as Netflix (NFLX), Under Armour (UAA), Ceridian HCM (CDAY), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Epam Systems (EPAM), among others) whose performance also turned worse this year.

This year, inflation crises have tremendously impacted the economy and the stock market globally. The $822.9-million-in-assets ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF is one of the major ways most investors use ETFs to gain exposure to cryptocurrency.

As of June, the largest Bitcoin ETF, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy, was down 53.6% this year. Such discouraging performance shows the underappreciated risk of the new asset class because most investors were not prepared to face hard questions like What would happen during a market crash? Or What would happen if a crypto exchange company went bankrupt?’

And that makes total sense, as it tracks the price of Bitcoin. Bitcoin price itself is down more than 50% this year.

ProShares Bitcoin Strategy is not just the largest Bitcoin ETF that is suffering. The entire crypto ETF universe is not doing well this year.

And the ETFs that own big positions in Bitcoin-based companies are underperforming. The First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF, which puts a bigger piece of its portfolio in Coinbase than any other ETF, is down 69% this year.

Despite the low performance of ETFs, the industry is still pushing for the launch of more Bitcoin ETFs. Several firms have filed with the SEC to get approval to launch their spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Grayscale has been pushing for the SEC to approve their request to convert their Bitcoin trust into a spot ETF.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / / / /

NYDIG Partners with New York Yankees to Offer Bitcoin Savings Benefit

by Blockchain News

NYDIG, a regulated Bitcoin company, has entered into a multi-year partnership with the American professional baseball team, the New York Yankees to bring Bitcoin Savings Plan (BSP) to all employees of the organization. 

BSP22.jpg

Through the partnership, New York Yankees employees will be able to harness the opportunities inherent in the BSP as a workplace benefit that allows staff to convert a portion of their paycheck to Bitcoin via the NYDIG platform. The service offering is protected by strict regulatory standards and will serve as an easy way for subscribers to gain easy exposure to the digital currency ecosystem.

“For employees of the Yankees and beyond, the opportunity to allocate a small slice of their paycheck to a Bitcoin Savings Plan can be one of the most efficient ways to save bitcoin, and the dollar-cost averaging can smooth out the bumps along the way. We commend the Yankees for understanding the competitive opportunities and the value of providing bitcoin options for their organization,” said Kelly Brewster, chief marketing officer at NYDIG. 

In its in-house research, NYDIG has discovered that employees are increasingly demanding products that will help them invest in Bitcoin. As its extension to the Yankees, subscribers will not be charged a penny in fees, even for the storage of their digital assets.

NYDIG is notably pushing forth the bars when it comes to offering related products to sports outfits and franchises. As reported earlier by Blockchain.News, NYDIG teamed also partnered with NBA team Houston Rockets, offering the organization’s employees a reliable avenue to get involved with crypto.

NYDIG is particularly driving partnerships amongst institutional investors. Based on its projections, the firm is expecting its Assets Under Management (AUM) for institutional investors to top $25 billion as many corporate buyers are beginning to turn to the firm for their BTC investment needs.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / / /

Deloitte and NYDIG Forms Alliance to Popularize Bitcoin

by Blockchain News

Big 4 auditing firm Deloitte has formed a strategic alliance with NYDIG as both seek to make Bitcoin (BTC) a more accessible digital currency for all.

Webp.net-resizeimage (28).jpg

As announced by Deloitte, the alliance will make it easy for companies, irrespective of their sizes, to integrate Bitcoin services, riding on the infrastructural capabilities of NYDIG.

Companies that utilize the onboarding route this alliance will offer will largely be able to leverage the consulting and professional services being provided by Deloitte. The partnership will see NYDIG utilize “Deloitte’s blockchain and digital assets practise across multiple areas involving bitcoin products, such as banking, consumer loyalty, and rewards programs, employee benefits, and more.”

Deloitte is one of the biggest accounting firms with concerted efforts to drive Bitcoin and blockchain adoption across the board.

Despite the current bearish outlook of the digital currency ecosystem, there has been a growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin. Alliances like this can bring more people to benefit from its decentralization power. According to Deloitte, the coalition will be the most active in cases where compliance is important regarding embracing digital currencies.

“We envision a world where traditional financial infrastructure works alongside digital asset infrastructure to deliver clients a best-in-class experience with the highest standards of regulatory compliance,” said Yan Zhao, President of NYDIG, adding that “We’ve already started the journey of bringing Bitcoin to all by embedding bitcoin wallets into existing user experiences, powering bitcoin rewards programs, and enabling bitcoin-secured lending.” 

The number of businesses that accept cryptocurrencies is increasing by the day and digital currency holders arguably needed an environment to spend their acquired coins. The coming together of NYDIG and Deloitte solves this immediate challenge and will ultimately empower businesses to be a part of the evolution of the nascent virtual currency ecosystem.

Image source: Shutterstock

Source

Tagged : / /

NYDIG offering allows participating companies to pay employees in Bitcoin

by Cointelegraph

The New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, has launched a benefit program allowing employees of participating companies to convert a portion of their paychecks into Bitcoin.

In a Tuesday announcement, the NYDIG said several firms involved with sports, entertainment, and digital currencies would be among the first to offer the crypto payments, including Everbowl, MVB Bank, StretchZone, crypto analytics firm The TIE, crypto mining firm Iris Energy and Fertitta Entertainment — the conglomerate behind restaurant giant Landry’s and the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets. Company employees who participate in NYDIG’s Bitcoin Savings Plan can choose how much of their pay will be converted into Bitcoin (BTC), with no transaction or cold storage fees.

NYDIG chief innovation officer Patrick Sells said the BTC payment plan was aimed at letting companies offer a benefits package to prospective employees interested in “protecting their financial futures.” According to a recent survey conducted by the firm, 36% of workers under 30 said they would be interested in receiving part of their salary in BTC, with roughly 33% opting for an employer offering payment plans in crypto as opposed to those solely in fiat or other benefits.

“Offering cutting edge benefits […] helps ensure that we are appealing to the new generation entering the workforce and allows us to attract and retain some of the best talent in the industry,” said Fertitta Entertainment owner and CEO Tilman Fertitta.

Related: Crypto salaries are becoming a popular way to attract young talent

Coinbase launched a similar offering in September for workers to deposit their salary payments directly to the crypto exchange, only requiring users set up direct deposits through a supported payroll company on the exchange’s app, or through their company’s human resources department. A number of professional athletes also announced in 2021 that they would be using Strike or Cash App to convert some of their earnings into crypto.