Crypto hedge fund Tetras Capital known for shorting ETH is shutting down - report

Tetras Capital, a crypto hedge fund known for shorting ether (ETH), is reportedly shutting down.

A CoinDesk report, citing "a person with direct knowledge of the matter," said Tetras Capital suffered a loss of about 75% since its launch in 2017 and is returning money to investors.

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Tetras Capital was launched to make trades in altcoins, but later became known for their short ETH thesis. In May 2018, the fund shorted ETH when the cryptocurrency was trading around $700. Today, ETH trades at around $320.

The New York-based fund managed assets of around $34 million at one point, according to a regulatory filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund had about 65 investors who put in at least $100,000 each, per the filing.

The fund was managed by Alex Sunnarborg, a former Raymond James analyst, along with Brendan Bernstein and Thomas Garrambone, former analysts at investment banks such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank.

Tetras Capital’s closure follows U.K.-based Prime Factor Capital’s shutdown last week. The country’s first licensed crypto hedge couldn’t attract institutional investors. In March, Adaptive Capital also closed its doors after suffering losses.

Around 70 crypto-focused hedge funds closed last year, according to Crypto Fund Research. There are currently 355 crypto hedge funds, according to the research firm. 

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.