Cyprus-regulated hedge fund ARK36 has partnered with France-based Prime Broker SheeldMarket in order to execute orders for a variety of digital assets. ARK36 will maintain custody of its assets within the broker’s compliant and insured infrastructure while accessing liquidity through cutting-edge, algorithmic execution services. This is the first such partnership between EU-regulated buy and sell-side cryptocurrency firms.
At a time when Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general have shown outstanding growth, both in price and trading volume, reports show that EU investors are seen as having a more favourable perception of digital assets relative to their US counterparts, with 6 out of 10 EU investors feeling digital assets have a place in investment portfolios. Yet the largest and most high-profile digital asset investments are still taking place in the US while EU institutional investors point to security concerns, underdeveloped market infrastructure, and regulatory classifications as the biggest obstacles to digital asset investment. In this context, there is an opportunity for a crypto fund and regulated prime broker to solve all three issues.
Across the institutional cryptocurrency investment world, there has been a shift away from dealing with unregulated entities in favour of entities that are able to provide exposure to the new asset class, while ensuring strict compliance with the regulation. The partnership between ARK36 and SheeldMarket is the perfect response to that unique need of investors and complements the multiple partnerships that ARK36 has established since its launch.
For digital asset trading to thrive, a solid regulatory foundation is imperative as, without properly regulated entities, it will be outright impossible for some institutions such as pension funds to enter the space. But now that it has become possible to go through a regulated entity like ARK36 who is favouring regulated Prime Brokers such as SheeldMarket, the distance to the crypto assets has been shortened significantly.
Oliver Yates, Co-founder & CEO at SheeldMarket, said: “As a nascent, decentralized, unregulated asset class, crypto is probably one of the biggest headaches in terms of trade operations. SheeldMarket’s goal is to take that pain away from Hedge Funds, and we are excited to help ARK36 provide high and consistent returns for their investors.”
Ulrik Lykke, Co-Founder at ARK36 commented: “ARK36 is growing rapidly, and as the assets under management rise significantly, the need for great execution platforms increases. We are constantly exploring the space to ensure we provide Best Execution and in SheeldMarket we saw the kind of high-end solution that can ensure rapid and precise execution of orders while also offering the protection of funds demanded by our investors.”
