Former Citi Digital Asset Execs Launch Crypto-Focused Fund

2 years ago

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto payments reporter.

A trio of erstwhile Citi executives formed a crypto-focused concern steadfast to assistance clients stake connected integer assets.

Motus Capital Management is led by Alex Kriete, Greg Girasole, and Frank Cavallo. Kriete and Girasole were antecedently co-heads of Citi’s integer assets group, portion Cavallo was a manager and concern counsellor overseeing astir $8 cardinal successful assets for the bank.

“In bid to merge our extremity of gathering the solutions our clients were asking for with our expertise successful the crypto space, we near accepted concern to make Motus,” the steadfast told CoinDesk.

Motus sees an accidental successful the maturation conception of the market, wherever larger concern funds aren’t capable to acquisition smaller marketplace headdress tokens for liquidity purposes, portion sub-$100 cardinal funds whitethorn “lack the guardrails we want, and economically their main inducement is gathering assets,” Cavallo said.

“We’ve decided not to marque tradeoffs and alternatively align interests by putting capable tegument successful the crippled ourselves to incentivize some due fiduciary controls and rightsizing the fund.” For Motus’ maturation fund, Cavallo told CoinDesk he’d similar it to beryllium astir $100 cardinal successful size, based connected the existent accidental acceptable identified.

For an income-focused strategy, Motus sees a “mismatch” betwixt backing integer assets versus accepted finance. “Global banks person truthful overmuch currency they wage zero oregon little for deposits. Meanwhile, the stablecoin marketplace headdress has quintupled since 2021, and investors inactive bid high-single to double-digit returns for dollars oregon dollar-pegged assets.” Thus, an accidental presents itself, Cavallo saodd.

Both the maturation and income funds are constricted to qualified purchasers.

Blockworks archetypal reported Motus’ motorboat connected Thursday, portion Motus confirmed the $100M fig reported by Bloomberg Friday afternoon.

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Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto payments reporter.

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto payments reporter.


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