Billionaire Cohen To Invest in New Crypto Trading Firm Radkl
A cryptocurrency company launched by partners of a major Wall Street trading firm said yesterday that it has snagged the support of billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen, as big names from the traditional financial world continue to embrace the industry surrounding crypto.
Mr Cohen, a hedge-fund manager and owner of the New York Mets, has agreed in principle to invest in Radkl, a crypto trading firm, though the deal is not final. The company is being launched by partners of GTS, a firm that trades as much as a billion shares of US stocks on a given day.
Radkl, which is pronounced like “radical,” plans to trade across cryptocurrency coins and exchanges.
This is the first foray for GTS into the crypto world, but digital assets and the technology that underlie them have been growing more mainstream as prices for coins soar. One bitcoin fetches about $63,763 (US$46,700) today.
That’s up from about $14,600 (US$10,700) a year ago, but prices can be notoriously volatile, and it’s also down from a peak of nearly $88,750 (US$65,000) this spring.
Mr Cohen, who will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of Radkl, has been making investments in the crypto world through various avenues.
Mr Cohen, who will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of Radkl, has been making investments in the crypto world through various avenues.
In a letter telling investors earlier this year that it’s exploring opportunities around the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, Mr Cohen’s Point72 said that it would be remiss to ignore a $2.7 trillion (US$2 trillion) market.
“We can assure you that we will be prudent in the nature of and sizing of our investments, both from an allocation and market standards perspective,” it said.
“We do, however, believe there is more innovation and evolution to come in the space, and we want to make sure we have a seat at the table.”
