$138B Fund Manager Ready To Jump Into Crypto Carnage: Report

The fund manager’s reported plan comes to light after crypto exchange FTX initiated bankruptcy proceedings last week

article-image

Blockworks Exclusive art by axel rangel

share

Man Group is reportedly preparing to launch a crypto-focused hedge fund as the segment deals with the aftermath of the collapse of FTX and the ripple effects that continue to play out. 

The London-based company has been developing the strategy in recent months, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. 

Set to be led by portfolio manager Andre Rzym, the sources said, Man Group trading unit AHL could look to launch the fund by the end of the year. Before joining Man AHL in 2005, Rzym worked at JPMorgan, where he traded emerging-market interest rate and credit default swaps.

A Man Group spokesperson declined to comment.

Man Group, which offers long-only, alternative and private markets products, managed $138.4 billion in assets across its investment managers, as of Sept. 30. The company is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Its stock price, which is down 6.2% on the year, was up nearly 2% Friday. 

The company’s reported plan comes to light after crypto exchange FTX initiated bankruptcy proceedings last week. Lawyers representing FTX and affiliates said in a bankruptcy motion on Monday that as many as one million creditors could be named in the suit.

Contagion is still taking shape. Crypto yield platform BlockFi is reportedly in danger of going bankrupt, and the lending division of Genesis has halted customer redemptions and new loan originations — both developments just two of many ripples from FTX’s splash.

Between 25% and 40% of cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds had some level of direct exposure to FTX, or its native token, FTT, Crypto Fund Research said Monday. 

The hedge funds’ exposure to the exchange has been on average between 7% and 12% of assets under management, according to the data provider.“

When the smoke clears, we expect the losses from crypto hedge funds and crypto venture funds directly exposed to the FTX collapse to have associated losses of well over $1 billion and possibly as much as $5 billion,” Crypto Fund Research CEO Josh Gnaizda told Blockworks.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Flashnote Template (6).png

Research

Trading of the President's TRUMP memecoin sent the market capitalization to over $15B, resulting in all-time highs for Solana’s Real Economic Value, DEX volumes, and stablecoin supply. This event further validates Solana as the venue for high-throughput onchain activity, with Solana DEXs and DeFi applications as primary beneficiaries, while also signaling to further experimentation, utilization, and adoption of memecoins as legitimate financial instruments for speculation, crowdfunding, or capital formation. President Trump’s continued willingness to experiment in crypto reaffirms a highly-favorable political and regulatory climate for the industry.

article-image

Back in 2021, there were really only two memecoins and both hit enormous peaks along with BTC

article-image

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron thinks that yield-bearing stablecoins could be the next big narrative

article-image

A Nova Labs exec referred to the last-day lawsuit “as irresponsible as it is wrong-headed”

article-image

Corresponding resolutions were introduced to “roll back the disastrous” rule requiring custodial brokers to report transactions

article-image

Donald Trump has slightly backed off from the ambitious tariff goals he touted on the campaign trail

article-image

Some have called it “a relief” that the task force will be led by the crypto-friendly Hester Peirce