Prices of major digital coins made gains in Asia on Wednesday on news that two U.S. public pension funds are investing in a crypto venture
Prices of major digital coins made small gains in Asia on Wednesday on news that two U.S. public pension funds are investing in a crypto venture capital fund, a move that signalled support for digital assets from conservative investors.
Asset management firm Morgan Creek Digital launched a new $40 million crypto venture capital fund backed by two pension funds in Fairfax County, Virginia. Known as the Morgan Creek Blockchain Opportunities Fund, the fund is investing in the crypto industry. The two public pension funds are the Fairfax County Police and the Fairfax County Employees’ pension plans.
The news surprised industry insiders as pension funds – considered one of the most conservative types of investors – invested in digital assets that are often seen as volatile and free of regulation.
Chief investment officer at Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System, Katherine Molnar said in a statement that blockchain technology is an “emerging opportunity” that offers an “attractive asymmetric return profile”. Supported by the news, major cryptocurrencies all advanced.
Bitcoin added 0.47% to $3,637.4 by 11:11 PM ET (04:11 GMT), still holding above a two-week high of $3,600. Ethereum edged up 2.20% to $123.42, XRP traded 1.36% higher to $ 0.30544, and Litecoin gained 0.25% to $44.082.
The total coin market capitalisation rose to $122 billion, compared to $121 billion on Monday.
In a separate development, the ongoing saga of Canadian crypto exchange Quadriga continued.
Quadriga’s CEO Gerald Cotton died on Dec. 9, 2018. He was the only one with access to about CAD180 million in digital money that belongs to some 100,000 customers, according to a news agency.
Ernst & Young published a report saying that the exchange on Feb. 6 “inadvertently transferred 103 Bitcoins valued at approximately $468,675 to Quadriga cold wallets which the Company is currently unable to access.” The Ontario Securities Commission is looking into the matter.
