Quick take:
- Multicoin Capital has partnered with Bitwise and Matthew Ball to launch a new crypto index fund.
- The fund will focus on companies that operate in the metaverse segment of the crypto industry.
- Dubbed the Ball Multicoin Bitwise Metaverse Index, it will include up to 40 crypto assets and a corresponding fund tracking the performance of the index.
Multicoin Capital has collaborated with crypto fund issuer Bitwise and Matthew Ball to launch Ball Multicoin Bitwise Metaverse Index accompanied by a fund.
The index encompasses 40 crypto assets and a corresponding fund tracking the performance index, which can be purchased through Bitwise. The index will focus on crypto projects and companies investing in the metaverse.
Several US and EU fund issuers have launched various crypto funds, in particular, those linked to the metaverse. This year, Proshares launched its own metaverse fund and was soon followed by Global X and Fidelity Investments.
In the EU, ETC Group became the first EU investment company to launch a crypto fund focused on the burgeoning metaverse segment of the industry.
The metaverse is described differently by experts, but overall, it is a 3D virtual space built on Web3 technology, the net iteration of the internet. It allows users to engage in various experiential activities including gaming using 3D avatars.
Commenting on his company’s new partnership, Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital hailed the metaverse as being one of the most audacious ideas ever conceived. “With literally thousands of crypto assets to choose from, underwriting the most investable opportunities is a never-ending challenge,” Samani said.
Samani and Ball will join Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan and several others to serve on the index committee, a person familiar with the matter told Coindesk.
One of the main tasks of the committee will be to identify the crypto assets to add to the index, as well as, the weighting for each asset.
“The index draws on a list of liquid crypto assets that pass a series of risk screens to ensure that they are appropriate for professional investors,” Ball said. “Those screens include items related to custody, liquidity, technological and regulatory risk, as well as screens like developer activity, revenues and fit to the metaverse category.”
The launch of the metaverse-focused may come as a surprise given the recent downturn in metaverse related tokens. Both the $SAND token and the $MANA token have plunged by 77% and 70% respectively this year, which compared to Bitcoin’s decline of 38%.
According to Ball, the fund’s investors are optimistic about the metaverse, thus, “the current downturn does not impact that conviction, except perhaps to make it an even more desirable investment,” he added.
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