Key Takeaways
- • Spiko and Marex have partnered to launch a digital asset cash-and-carry fund targeting corporate treasurers, allocating capital monthly between Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts on CME and short-duration U.S. Treasury bills based on relative attractiveness.
- • The Spiko Digital Assets Cash & Carry Fund (SPKCC) employs a deterministic, rules-based strategy that switches between crypto carry trades and risk-free Treasury instruments, with the index demonstrating an 8.13% annualized return at last measurement (166.951 index level).
- • Marex serves as the fund's sole counterparty and implementation partner, leveraging its expertise in commodities trading and risk management to execute the strategy, while Spiko handles strategy development and index management.
- • Fee structure consists of 1% fixed annual management fee from Marex plus 25% performance fee on returns above SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate), with historical index performance not including these charges.
- • The partnership addresses treasurer demand for yield on cash holdings by offering monthly rebalancing between crypto cash-and-carry opportunities and Treasury bills, providing liquidity and daily interest accrual without lock-up periods.
Summary
Spiko, a Treasury fintech founded in 2023 by former French government advisors Antoine Michon and Paul-Adrien Hyppolite, has partnered with Marex, a global financial services firm specializing in trading and risk management, to implement a digital asset cash-and-carry fund designed specifically for corporate treasurers seeking yield on idle cash. The fund represents an extension of Spiko's existing cash management platform, which has attracted over $400 million in assets under management and processed more than $900 million in corporate working capital from 1,000+ businesses within its first year of operation.
The Spiko Digital Assets Cash & Carry Fund (SPKCC) employs a deterministic, rules-based strategy that allocates capital monthly across three primary instruments: Bitcoin futures contracts listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Ethereum futures on CME, and short-duration U.S. Treasury bills. The fund selects whichever instrument offers the highest expected return each month, creating an adaptive approach that protects against crypto market inefficiencies while maintaining a risk-free fallback option. The underlying Spiko Digital Assets Cash and Carry Index (SPKCARRY) targets the basis spread between spot and futures prices in Bitcoin and Ethereum, historically delivering an 8.13% annualized return based on the index's last recorded level of 166.951.
Marex functions as the fund's sole counterparty and implementation partner, executing trades and managing counterparty risk while Spiko retains responsibility for strategy development and index governance. The fund structure maintains daily liquidity and interest accrual, with no notice periods, withdrawal fees, or penalties—positioning it as a competitive alternative to traditional money market funds and short-duration bond vehicles for treasurer portfolios. The fee arrangement comprises a 1% fixed annual management fee from Marex and a 25% performance fee on returns exceeding SOFR. Historical index performance figures do not reflect these charges, meaning actual investor returns will be lower than published index metrics.
The partnership reflects broader institutional appetite for regulated digital asset exposure within treasury operations, particularly as cash-and-carry spreads in Bitcoin and Ethereum have become economically meaningful relative to risk-free rates. By offering a transparent, rebalancing mechanism that systematically switches between crypto and Treasury instruments based on relative value, Spiko and Marex target a previously underserved segment: corporate treasurers with mandates to generate returns on cash reserves without taking unacceptable market risk.
The Spiko Digital Assets Cash & Carry Fund (SPKCC) employs a deterministic, rules-based strategy that allocates capital monthly across three primary instruments: Bitcoin futures contracts listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Ethereum futures on CME, and short-duration U.S. Treasury bills. The fund selects whichever instrument offers the highest expected return each month, creating an adaptive approach that protects against crypto market inefficiencies while maintaining a risk-free fallback option. The underlying Spiko Digital Assets Cash and Carry Index (SPKCARRY) targets the basis spread between spot and futures prices in Bitcoin and Ethereum, historically delivering an 8.13% annualized return based on the index's last recorded level of 166.951.
Marex functions as the fund's sole counterparty and implementation partner, executing trades and managing counterparty risk while Spiko retains responsibility for strategy development and index governance. The fund structure maintains daily liquidity and interest accrual, with no notice periods, withdrawal fees, or penalties—positioning it as a competitive alternative to traditional money market funds and short-duration bond vehicles for treasurer portfolios. The fee arrangement comprises a 1% fixed annual management fee from Marex and a 25% performance fee on returns exceeding SOFR. Historical index performance figures do not reflect these charges, meaning actual investor returns will be lower than published index metrics.
The partnership reflects broader institutional appetite for regulated digital asset exposure within treasury operations, particularly as cash-and-carry spreads in Bitcoin and Ethereum have become economically meaningful relative to risk-free rates. By offering a transparent, rebalancing mechanism that systematically switches between crypto and Treasury instruments based on relative value, Spiko and Marex target a previously underserved segment: corporate treasurers with mandates to generate returns on cash reserves without taking unacceptable market risk.
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