Investment House Altshuler Shaham Recently enjoyed significant exposure to investment inBitcoin, Against the background of the tide in the cryptocurrency market. Globes has learned that at the end of last year, the investment house invested a sum of about $ 100 million in the world’s largest bitcoin fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, known as GBTC. This investment yielded a handsome return of about 100% for the investment house in about two months following the jump in the price of Bitcoin.
This is the first time that an Israeli institutional body has acquired a holding with exposure to Bitcoin of this magnitude for its customers. Altshuler Shaham, one of the largest investment entities in Israel, managed NIS 171 billion in assets in long-term savings associates’ accounts – provident funds and pension funds as of the end of January.
The GBTC fund monitors the dollar price of Bitcoin according to an index published by TradeBlock. The fund is managed by Grayscale Investments, which is considered the largest crypto investment company in the world and is part of the Digital Currency Group, which is led by founder Barry Zilbert.
The market value of the fund, which is traded over the counter, is currently about $ 34 billion. The fund’s shares have risen by about 60% since the beginning of 2021 and have completed a jump of 495% in the last 12 months. The investment in the fund is intended for qualified investors only, allowing for a minimum investment of $ 50,000 and an annual commission of 2%.
Alstoller: “This is a new investment for us”
In a conversation with Globes, Gilad Altshuler, co-CEO, founder and co-owner of the investment house, said that the investment in the GBTC fund was made from Altshuler Shaham’s investment portfolio money in the second half of last year. From the members’ portfolio of the investment house.
The purchase of GBTC shares, which provide indirect exposure to Bitcoin, was made by Altshuler Shaham when the price of Bitcoin was around $ 21,000. About two months later, in early February, the price of Bitcoin crossed the $ 40,000 mark and continued to soar, at which point the investment house realized about a third of its holdings in GBTC.
Following the sale, Altshuler Shaham currently holds approximately $ 150 million in GBTC shares. “The $ 100 million investment has become $ 200 million, and of the $ 200 million we have already sold about a third,” Altshuler told Globes. “This is a new investment for us. It took several months until we received all the relevant approvals and all the opinions that approved our investment in the field.”
Will you increase this investment this year?
“It depends on the price,” says Altshuler. “We were a little intimidated by the speed with which Bitcoin reached these prices, with its global market capitalization crossing the $ 1 trillion mark, and that worried us a bit.
Bitcoin traded at $ 56,600 on Wednesday night, after rising 12% in the past week. From the beginning of 2021, the price of the leading cryptocurrency has climbed by about 70%. About three weeks ago, on February 21, an all-time high in the Bitcoin price was recorded at $ 58,330 – and today it is about 3% lower than the high.
Growth in the activity of Altshuler Shaham Horizon
The investment in the GBTC fund stands out as Altshuler Shaham’s biggest move to date to expand its investments in the crypto market. Last January, as reported by Globes, the investment house of Gilad Altshuler and Kalman Shaham agreed with Whitsmuck, which recently converted its activities to the crypto field, to buy 8.5% of its share capital for NIS 10 million – an investment that makes Altshuler Shaham a stakeholder in the company. It should be noted, however, that the investment in Whitsmoke was made from the nostro account of the investment house, and not from the members’ money.
Meanwhile, the activities of Altshuler Shaham Horizon, a subsidiary of Altshuler Shaham, which operates as the crypto arm of the investment house, have recently expanded. The company was established in 2018 under the leadership of Ran Shaham, co-CEO of the investment house, and is intended to operate in the field of investments in the cryptocurrency market. In recent months, the company notes that there has been a large influx of customers – along with a large increase in activity.
Last week, a new CEO was appointed to Altshuler – Shaham Horizon – Ilan Stark, who previously managed the trading and capital markets division of the Israeli blockchain company Orbs. Only about 30 employees, as reported by Globes.