Ripple Vets Raising Money for Crypto Hedge Fund

Two former employees of distributed ledger startup Ripple are raising money for a cryptocurrency hedge fund, public records show.

Twin filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated Jan. 25 and 26 show that co-founders Tim Lewkow and Eli Lang are seeking funds to back Fractal Investments, which invests in crypto-assets, per its official website. The company dates back to last summer and has maintained a public profile primarily through its Twitter account.

Lang is formerly creative director for Ripple, having begun working for the San Francisco-based startup in 2012. Lewkow worked for Ripple from December 2013 until June of last year, most recently serving as integration engineering manager, according to his LinkedIn account.

The filings detail two vehicles, Fractal: Virtual Currency Investment Fund I LP and Fractal: Private Investment Fund LP, both of which are incorporated in Delaware. Neither filings indicate how much money is being raised for either entity.

The developments perhaps highlight the continued drive to establish hedge funds and other financial entities amidst a period of heightened activity in cryptocurrency markets and development around the tech more broadly. Like others, Fractal is looking to invest in the growing ecosystem of digitized assets.

And even as traditional investors move to invest in the space, others are pushing even further. As reported last week, a group of former Wall Street vets has raised as much as $50 million to create a fund of funds focused on cryptocurrencies.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Ripple.

Stack of coins image via Shutterstock