Legion Strategies, a hedge fund affiliated with Anthony Scaramucci's Skybridge Capital, has halted investor redemptions, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the decision.
The move reportedly comes after steep declines in stocks and cryptocurrencies witnessed over the past months, with one source telling Bloomberg that the decision to suspend redemptions was made because stocks in private companies—which are traditionally harder to sell—now make up about 20% of the fund's portfolio.
FTX, the crypto exchange led by Sam Bankman-Fried, is also listed among Legion Strategies' private investments.
Through other funds managed by Skybridge, the Legion Strategies fund also gained exposure to such cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Algorand, according to an SEC filing.
Legion Strategies had about $230 million in assets under management (AUM), with almost 25% net assets held in crypto as of February 28. Currently, the fund holds only 10% digital assets, according to Bloomberg.
"Alongside an independent board, SkyBridge temporarily suspended redemptions in its offshore fund, Legion Strategies, on Monday, July 18. The suspension is driven largely by a liquidity mismatch resulting from late-stage private investments in the fund. SkyBridge funds do not have leverage. There is zero risk of any asset liquidation," a Skybridge representative told Decrypt. "The gate is a collective protection for our investors. The suspension will be in place until SkyBridge can ensure the fund is not forced to exit positions to the detriment of investors who want to stay in, while allowing an orderly exit for those who want one. The decision has been well-received by the majority of the fund’s investors."
Skybridge and crypto
Scaramucci, who had a brief spell at the White House as a Director of Communications back in 2017, has become an ardent crypto advocate.
Among its many crypto initiatives, Skybridge Capital was also pushing for a spot Bitcoin ETF, only to see its application rejected by the SEC in January this year.
The New York-based company, which had about $3.5 billion in assets managed in April, with almost a half of that amount linked to digital assets, also had plans to become "a leading cryptocurrency asset manager and adviser," with Scaramucci saying at the time that "cryptocurrency markets represent tremendous growth."
"It comes with volatility, certainly, but I think over three to five years, we like that trajectory," Scaramucci told Bloomberg in the lead up to the annual SkyBridge Alternatives Conference (SALT) in April.
The fortunes might, however, have changed since then.
The crypto market lost more than $1.2 trillion in value since the start of the year, according to CoinMarketCap, with major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum plummeting about 50% and 60% over the span, respectively.
Bitcoin was changing hands around $21,878 by press time, down 1.80% over the past 24 hours.