Key Takeaways
- • Nexyst Digital, a nascent digital assets hedge fund firm, is preparing to launch two crypto vehicles by mid-May 2024 that use a multi-manager model to reduce volatility and risk, according to two sources and marketing materials obtained by Unchained.
- • The first fund, a market neutral vehicle, has secured an anchor investment from a New York macro hedge fund firm and targets annualized returns of 15% to 20% with zero correlation to bitcoin and a 5% volatility target.
- • The second, Nexyst's dynamic strategy, targets annualized returns above 35% with volatility below 20% and a correlation of less than 0.5 to bitcoin, employing higher risk.
- • At launch, Nexyst plans 15 trader teams (11 in the market neutral fund, four in the dynamic fund), first deployed with the firm's proprietary capital before blending into the funds.
- • Nexyst lets traders retain ownership of their own IP, a departure from the prevailing multi-manager practice of firms controlling strategies, which COO Jon Campagna and CEO Dimitri Sogoloff present as a differentiator.
Summary
Nexyst Digital is gearing up to launch two new crypto vehicles in mid-May that seek to reduce volatility and risk by employing multiple managers, according to Unchained. The firm is finalizing investor commitments and refining its operational and investment approaches, per two sources familiar with the matter and marketing materials obtained by the publication. Nexyst is helmed by Chief Investment Officer Val Zhigulin, whose background includes quantitative roles at Citadel and equities-focused Visium Asset Management. Chief Executive Officer Dimitri Sogoloff is a longtime alternatives specialist who founded Horton Point, a family office that evolved into an alternatives platform.
The article frames the launch within a broader shift toward multi-manager models in crypto. Digital asset managers have historically relied on single-manager structures, partly because their smaller capital bases made it difficult to allocate enough capital across multiple traders. Unchained cites crypto asset manager Forteus and fund-of-funds Bitwise Asset Management as recent examples of multi-manager vehicles gaining traction.
Both Nexyst funds use "systemic" strategies relying on automated 24/7 trading systems that may include discretionary levers, such as adjusting risk profiles, distinguishing them from autonomous quantitative black-box approaches. The firm's in-house platform allocates capital between internal and external traders, a structure similar to that of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors. Nexyst's first fund is a market neutral vehicle that has secured an anchor investment from a New York macro hedge fund firm, one source said. It targets annualized returns of 15% to 20%, zero correlation to bitcoin, and a volatility target of 5%, achieved through a mix of arbitrage and relative value strategies. The second, the dynamic strategy, targets annualized returns above 35%, volatility below 20%, and a correlation below 0.5 to bitcoin.
Nexyst COO Jon Campagna, a former early partner at CoinFund and one of three managing partners, confirmed the upcoming launches. He described the multi-manager structure as adding "layers on layers of risk management" through diversification across strategies. Campagna declined to comment on fundraising efforts or marketing materials. At launch, the funds will involve 15 trader teams, with proprietary capital deployed first to vet traders before strategies are blended into the funds running limited partner capital.
Nexyst's distinguishing feature is its treatment of intellectual property. Multi-manager firms typically control trading strategies so that profitable plays remain with the firm even if portfolio managers depart. Nexyst allows traders to retain their own IP. Sogoloff said, per Unchained, "We believe that the multi-manager model we're doing with the ethos of decentralization is allowing the traders and teams to own their own IP, versus the [employer] owning their IP."
The article frames the launch within a broader shift toward multi-manager models in crypto. Digital asset managers have historically relied on single-manager structures, partly because their smaller capital bases made it difficult to allocate enough capital across multiple traders. Unchained cites crypto asset manager Forteus and fund-of-funds Bitwise Asset Management as recent examples of multi-manager vehicles gaining traction.
Both Nexyst funds use "systemic" strategies relying on automated 24/7 trading systems that may include discretionary levers, such as adjusting risk profiles, distinguishing them from autonomous quantitative black-box approaches. The firm's in-house platform allocates capital between internal and external traders, a structure similar to that of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors. Nexyst's first fund is a market neutral vehicle that has secured an anchor investment from a New York macro hedge fund firm, one source said. It targets annualized returns of 15% to 20%, zero correlation to bitcoin, and a volatility target of 5%, achieved through a mix of arbitrage and relative value strategies. The second, the dynamic strategy, targets annualized returns above 35%, volatility below 20%, and a correlation below 0.5 to bitcoin.
Nexyst COO Jon Campagna, a former early partner at CoinFund and one of three managing partners, confirmed the upcoming launches. He described the multi-manager structure as adding "layers on layers of risk management" through diversification across strategies. Campagna declined to comment on fundraising efforts or marketing materials. At launch, the funds will involve 15 trader teams, with proprietary capital deployed first to vet traders before strategies are blended into the funds running limited partner capital.
Nexyst's distinguishing feature is its treatment of intellectual property. Multi-manager firms typically control trading strategies so that profitable plays remain with the firm even if portfolio managers depart. Nexyst allows traders to retain their own IP. Sogoloff said, per Unchained, "We believe that the multi-manager model we're doing with the ethos of decentralization is allowing the traders and teams to own their own IP, versus the [employer] owning their IP."
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