Bitcoin Manager With $1B Crypto Goal Is Backed by Hedge Fund Vet Alan Howard: Report

Institutional bitcoin firm One River Digital is barreling toward $1 billion in cryptocurrencies under management with backing from billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The newcomer, One River Digital, is an offshoot of volatility hedge fund One River Asset Management. It's already invested $600 million in bitcoin and ether for institutional clients; CEO Eric Peters told Bloomberg that One River Digital's crypto holdings will cross $1 billion in early 2021.

It will do so with notable ties to the traditional financial world. On Wednesday. Bloomberg also reported that Brevan Howard Asset Management co-founder Alan Howard is taking an ownership stake in One River Digital and helping providing the company with backend trading services.

Fellow British fund shop Ruffer LLP is also an investor in One River Digital. Separately Tuesday, Ruffer revealed it is holding 2.5% of its total assets under management in bitcoin.

Coinbase confirmed earlier reports that it would serve as One River Digital's initial partner for trade execution and crypto custody.

"Our unified investing experience has the tools sophisticated investors need to execute large and complex trades, complemented by a diverse pool of liquidity," Brett Tejpaul, Coinbase's head of institutional trading, told CoinDesk through a spokesperson.