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Ikigai Asset Management Had 'Large Majority' of Assets on FTX, Unclear Whether It Will Be Able to Continue
Chief Investment Officer Travis Kling tweeted that the hedge fund has only been able to withdraw "very little" of its funds.
Updated May 9, 2023, 4:02 a.m. Published Nov 14, 2022, 5:04 p.m.
California-based hedge fund Ikigai Asset Management had a "large majority" of its assets on defunct crypto exchange FTX, according to the firm's founder and chief investment officer Travis Kling.
"Last week Ikigai was caught up in the FTX collapse. We had a large majority of the hedge fund’s total assets on FTX," Kling said on Twitter on Monday. "By the time we went to withdraw Monday mrng, we got very little out. We’re now stuck alongside everyone else."
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In his Twitter thread, Kling said that in the near term, the company would continue trading the assets it has that are not stuck in FTX, and also make a decision about what to do with its venture fund, which was not affected by FTX.
He noted that there is a lot of uncertainty about the timeline and potential recovery for FTX customers. But at some point, he said “we’ll be able to make a better call on whether Ikigai is going to keep going or just move into winddown mode.”
Regarding Ikigai’s investors, Kling wrote that he’s been in constant contact with them since Monday, and took full responsibility for the potential loss of funds. “I lost my investors’ money after they put faith in me to manage risk and I am truly sorry for that. I have publicly endorsed FTX many times and I am truly sorry for that. I was wrong.”
Ikigai was founded in 2018 and raised $30 million from its existing investors to start a new venture fund in May. According to a press release about the raise, Ikigai had more than 275 investors around the world.
As for where crypto in general goes from here, Kling wrote that “It’s obvious now that the space has not done enough to identify and expel bad actors. We’re letting way too many sociopaths get way too powerful and then we all pay the price. If Ikigai continues on, we pledge to fight harder in this regard. It’s a fight worth fighting.”
Ikigai did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Read more: The FTX Downfall: Full Coverage
UPDATE (Nov. 14, 17:37 UTC): Updated headline and subhead, and added more detail from Kling's tweet thread and background throughout.
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