'Hedge Fund Tycoon' Buys Bitcoin... Cryptocurrency Rebounds

Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Founder, Reveals Bitcoin Purchase
PwC: "Hedge Fund Cryptocurrency Investments Double"
Regulatory Crackdown Drives Chinese Mining Firms Overseas

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Cryptocurrencies that experienced a sharp decline over the weekend are now rebounding. Bitcoin has recovered to the $37,000 range, and Ethereum, Dogecoin, and others are also showing a simultaneous upward trend, largely making up for the losses.

According to Coinbase on the 24th (local time), Bitcoin is trading at around $37,600, up 13%.

Ray Dalio, Chairman of Bridgewater

Ethereum rose 22% to the $2,300 range, and Dogecoin is trading at 33 cents with a 9.9% increase.

Cryptocurrencies had shown a sharp decline the day before. Bitcoin was trading at $31,000, Ethereum at $1,700, and Dogecoin at 24 cents, driving investors into fear.

Bitcoin has halved since its peak in April, and altcoins like Ethereum and Dogecoin have shown even higher rates of decline than Bitcoin.

Hedge Fund Pioneer Also Buying Bitcoin... Hedge Fund Investment Doubled Last Year

On this day, Ray Dalio, chairman of the hedge fund Bridgewater, publicly disclosed that he holds Bitcoin. Dalio mentioned that the low value of the dollar makes Bitcoin attractive. Dalio’s remarks were recorded on May 6, when Bitcoin’s price peaked after Coinbase listing and then dropped to the $50,000 range.

Management consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that hedge funds’ cryptocurrency assets increased by 90% from $2 billion the previous year to $3.8 billion last year.

According to PwC, over 90% of hedge funds investing in cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin in their portfolios. This is followed by Ethereum at 67%, Litecoin at 34%, Chainlink at 30%, and Polkadot at 28%.

56% of hedge funds investing in cryptocurrencies also invest in related derivatives.

PwC assessed that after the cryptocurrency price crash in 2017, hedge fund investments in cryptocurrencies were sluggish in 2018, but investment size increased significantly in 2019 amid rising prices. The proportion of funds short-selling cryptocurrencies decreased significantly from 48% to 28%, indicating hedge funds’ focus on cryptocurrency price increases.

PwC explained that 82% of fund managers who responded to the survey cited regulation as the biggest risk in cryptocurrency investment. Regulatory uncertainty is considered the greatest barrier to investment. In addition, reputational risk and lack of information about cryptocurrencies were also identified as important investment risk factors.

The regulatory risk mentioned by hedge funds is ongoing.

After China’s policy to block Bitcoin mining and trading was announced, cases of blocking mainland Chinese transactions or relocating mining overseas have been increasing.

BTCTop announced on the 24th that it will relocate mining from China to the United States. BTCTop is ranked among the top 10 mining companies worldwide in the last 24 hours. BTCTop explained that it is stopping mining in China due to regulatory risks.