David Bailey's hedge fund, 210k Capital, sees 640% net return over the past year

David Bailey, the Bitcoin conference promoter who helped turn Donald Trump into a vocal cryptocurrency advocate, has seen his hedge fund, 210k Capital, deliver a staggering 640% net return over the past year. Bailey’s fund has outperformed Bitcoin itself, solidifying his role as one of crypto’s most influential behind-the-scenes operators.

The gains stem from a strategy of investing in public companies across multiple sectors and getting them to convert into “Bitcoin proxies” by adding the digital currency to their treasuries. As of June 30, 210k Capital managed $433 million in assets.

210k capital turns businesses into Bitcoin proxies

Rather than merely holding tokens or investing in crypto-native firms, 210k Capital targets small-cap public companies and works closely with them to adopt Bitcoin treasury strategies. This tactic helped them capitalize on a post-election surge in crypto markets, driven by Trump’s pro-industry platform.

One such example is The Smarter Web Plc, a UK-based website design firm that completed an IPO on London’s Aquis Stock Exchange in April. After raising £2.1 million to buy Bitcoin, its shares rocketed. 210k Capital’s £780,000 stake from the pre-IPO round — including stock warrants — is now valued at nearly £110 million, Bloomberg reports. The company has since amassed 1,600 BTC, worth over $190 million.

But Smarter Web also illustrates the volatility of such plays. The stock is down 55% from its June 20 peak, showing how susceptible these firms remain to swings in crypto sentiment and thin trading volumes.

Another big winner is Metaplanet, a hotel chain in Japan that rebranded itself to acquire and hold Bitcoin. 210k Capital bought $1 million worth of stock warrants before the pivot. That stake is now worth over $106 million, according to the fund’s Managing Partner, Tyler Evans.

Bailey is a political catalyst with financial muscle

The investment strategy dovetails with Bailey’s political work. As co-founder of BTC Inc., he organized key Bitcoin conferences and played a role in shaping Trump’s pivot from crypto skeptic to vocal champion. At the 2024 Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Trump declared his ambition to make the U.S. “the world’s crypto capital” and named Bailey as a central figure in that transformation.

BTC Inc. also hosted the “Inaugural Crypto Ball” in January 2025 to celebrate Trump’s return to the White House. Bailey later joined the advisory board of Metaplanet, along with Trump’s son Eric.

The fusion of politics and profit is by no means accidental. Bailey urged crypto supporters to raise $100 million for Trump’s campaign, and the move appears to be genius in hindsight, based on the administration’s pro-Bitcoin agenda and his fund’s role in transforming companies into policy-aligned investment vehicles.

His other venture, Nakamoto Holdings Inc., a Bitcoin treasury company named after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder, announced a merger in May with healthcare firm KindlyMD, which is raising funds to buy Bitcoin for its treasury.

While Bailey’s approach has yielded relatively high returns, it comes with caveats. Companies accumulating crypto have seen shares spike, but they’ve also faced massive drawdowns. For example, SharpLink Gaming shares, an Ether-focused treasury play, fell 70% after what its chairman described as a routine filing.

Still, 210k Capital isn’t backing off. The firm is currently evaluating 30 more companies across the globe for Bitcoin treasury conversions, especially in regions without access to spot Bitcoin ETFs, like India, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now