Feynman goes independent from Republic to form $300M crypto hedge fund

Feynman Point Asset Management, a newly independent investment firm focused on digital assets and frontier technologies, has officially announced it is spinning out from Republic, a New York-based investment firm known for its crypto initiatives. 

With this move, the firm establishes itself as a dedicated $300 million crypto hedge fund, led by Joe Naggar, a veteran of the traditional finance world known for having deep crypto roots. 

Feynman goes independent, but nothing will change about its focus 

Joe Naggar’s deep crypto roots are no joke.  He was a former partner at Steven Tananbaum’s GoldenTree Asset Management for 16 years, where he oversaw its $61 billion in credit assets; he started mining Bitcoin as far back as 2013 and was part of those who invested in projects like Stacks and Algorand, as well as Coinbase.

He started assembling a dedicated digital assets team inside GoldenTree in 2022. However, following a wave of collapses—Celsius, Voyager Digital, FTX— and a regulatory crackdown, GoldenTree was sold to Republic, a New York-based investment firm, less than two years later.

Now, Naggar and his team have decided to go independent as Feynman Point Asset Management, an investment firm with a focus on digital asset markets and frontier technologies.

Naggar has reassured that despite the change, the firm will keep doing precisely what it was doing before and more. 

“The Feynman Point Special Opportunities Fund we’ve created to bring some of our best investment ideas to our LPs to co-participate is one example of that,” he said. 

Through transitions, the fund has performed well with its backers—including L1D, a $600 million Swiss fund, and New York-based Blockchain Investment Group— earning an annualized net return of over 42% since the fund’s inception in 2022. 

Some of its winning moves have included buying the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) at a 40% discount to its underlying assets, early exposure to breakout decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, and an equity investment in Ripple, developer of the XRP cryptocurrency. These investments have paid off well and have the potential to do even better in the future. 

Naggar has also expressed vested interest in the growing digital asset treasury (DAT) sector and has said the firm is “invested in 15 or 17 different DATs” including Tom Lee’s BitMine Immersion Technologies, Joe Lubin’s SharpLink Gaming, Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Twenty One Capital and Kyle Samani’s Forward Industries.

“Some DATs are kind of money grabs and maybe don’t deserve the attention, but there are others that add some real value, either in the ecosystem or for investors, by doing smart stuff,” Naggar added. 

The hedge fund boom continues while private equity suffers 

The decision of Feynman Point Asset Management to spin out is proof of how much more mature the space has gotten. Its new independent status will let Feynman Point take bigger swings with fewer constraints, and it is further proof of the broader hedge fund boom.

Over the past couple of months, a considerable number of traditional funds have dipped their toes into crypto, with heavyweight players like Brevan Howard and Pantera raising billions, highlighting how hedge funds and crypto strategies have been gaining momentum in the world of alternative investments.

Meanwhile, fundraising for private equity and credit — once Wall Street’s most reliable cash magnets — continues to slow. In the past, those private markets absorbed vast sums of cash, with funds closing in record time and little debate over where the next dollar would go. 

According to reports, fundraising has now slumped to its weakest in years, hampered by clogged exits and investors who are waiting for liquidity to flow back. 

In fact, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co., private credit is on track to have its weakest year since 2018, with fundraising timelines stretching close to two years, the longest since the financial crisis.

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