Four students studying at Harvard University have created their very own cryptocurrency hedge fund: Plympton Capital.
A fundraising target of USD 1 million
While the hedge fund is still in the fundraising stage, within six to eight weeks the students say they should be prepared for the official launch. Plympton Capital has already received USD 700,000 from friends and family during the fundraising, with a target set of USD 1 million.
Global head of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research Lex Sokolin noted that to run a successful hedge fund, USD 50 million might be a more realistic target. He said, ”If it’s not grounded in reality and compliance, the project will get eaten up by the increasingly sophisticated competition.”
19-year-old Bushra Hamid heads the team, with the additional three members of the team Scott Sussex, Omar Sorour and Junaid Zubair.
Challenging environment for crypto hedge funds
In an increasingly saturated space for cryptocurrency hedge funds, Plympton Capital will have to provide an exemplary investment strategy, as well as model professionalism to overcome those skeptical of a hedge fund managed by students.
Recent reporting by Bloomberg indicates that during Q1 2018, digital currency hedge funds unsurprisingly experienced stagnation in the bear cryptocurrency market.
As well as this, the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) is currently investigating over 100 cryptocurrency hedge funds on account of acting against regulations. Some funds have been issued subpoenas, while several have stopped doing business.
The Eurekahedge Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund Index reports that the return on investment for cryptocurrency funds has dropped this year to 40%. Comparatively, 2017 saw the maximum return rate of 1,700%. It has been predicted that over 10% of cryptocurrency hedge funds may not be operational by December this year.
Plympton Capital may survive this turbulent market, however, not least due to the support they have received in the media. Being a group of Harvard students is certainly a niche offering; if their policies and services are strong enough they may well succeed.
