Billionaire Steve Cohen Ditches Crypto Startup Radkl

New York-based Radkl has already lost two managing directors this year

article-image

Point72’s Steve Cohen | Source: Point72

share

key takeaways

  • Cohen backed Radkl in a personal capacity, not via Point72
  • The proprietary crypto trading firm launched in September last year by partners at GTS

Billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is no longer an investor in crypto startup Radkl, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Cohen reportedly provided financial backing to Radkl in a personal capacity, not through his hedge fund and the size of his investment is not known. A source familiar with the matter confirmed his exit.

The chairman and CEO of Point72 Asset Management made plans to enter the crypto market in 2021 at a time when high-profile investors and institutions were warming up to digital assets. 

The barely year-old proprietary crypto trading firm, launched by partners at Wall Street market maker GTS, is said to deploy sophisticated, high-speed, computerized trading models to invest in cryptoassets. 

Pronounced “radical,” the startup has lost at least two managing directors already this year, including Jim Greco and Beatrice O’Carroll, their LinkedIn profiles show. O’Carroll was still listed on Radkl’s website, however, alongside four others. The team page has since been deleted. LinkedIn shows the startup has 18 employees.

Radkl told Bloomberg it remains “extremely well capitalized” with its current investors. However, data on Crunchbase shows Cohen was its only investor.

The billionaire’s hedge fund had made several crypto-related bets including crypto analytics firm Messari, infrastructure platform Zero Hash and around-the-clock trading platform 24Exchange.

He has decades of experience on Wall Street and founded two hedge funds. Of those, SAC Capital was ordered to shut down after it plead guilty to engaging in insider trading. Cohen told Stray Reflections in an interview last year that he was “fully converted” to crypto.

Blockworks learned last month that Point72 was looking to hire a couple of senior blockchain-focused professionals, including a head of crypto technology and head of digital asset operations.

A spokesperson for Cohen declined to comment, while Radkl didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.

This article was updated on August 3 at 3:15 am ET.


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

👨‍⚖️ SBF’s courtroom sequel: Plus, Coinbase’s legal loss was DeFi’s gain

article-image

Public mining companies have been acquiring sites, refreshing machine fleets and diversifying business models in preparation for the event

article-image

Exploit shows centralization can sometimes be an asset

article-image

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund, like other proposed ETH ETFs, seeks to stake a portion of its assets, according to the firm’s Wednesday registration statement

article-image

The DAO first voted on enabling SAFE transfers over a year ago