One River Digital Asset Management announced today that an overwhelming majority of assets in its existing institutional Bitcoin Fund have chosen to switch to One River’s new carbon neutrality share class.
“Digital Assets are an emerging asset class with unique risks and opportunities,” said Eric Peters, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of One River Asset Management. “We believe that digital assets hold an incredible potential for good. To realize that potential, though, it is important to pro-actively address environmental impacts. Today’s announcement, made possible by our clients, is an important step in the right direction. Their actions will provide a benchmark for institutional investor behavior going forward.”
One River has created an option for its institutional investors to invest in digital strategies while offsetting the carbon emissions of crypto mining. The firm has developed an index (BTC.X), based on the estimated carbon emitted per Bitcoin and the market price of the offset required to neutralize that emission. At today’s prices and estimated carbon emissions, this is equivalent to $55 per year, or 0.15% of the cost of a Bitcoin. One River buys tokenized carbon credits, validated on a blockchain.
“We’ve spent this year working to address the carbon footprint of Bitcoin for our investors,” says Marcel Kasumovich, Head of Research at One River. “Bitcoin’s value is driven in part by the security of its network. That security is supported by Proof of Work, a process that is energy intensive. The benefits of Bitcoin are enormous, and far exceed its costs. That said, some of these costs can and should be mitigated. It’s exciting to see our research and efforts embraced by clients.”
Sebastian Bea, President of One River Digital, was excited by the swift response from clients as they embrace carbon neutral bitcoin investing. “We believe it is reflective of a broader shift in investor preferences, as transparency mounts across institutional portfolios,” he said. “Every new investment will increasingly be held to account for its carbon footprint. We are excited to be the first institutional digital asset manager to deliver this capability to its clients. We look forward to further opportunities as the digital asset ecosystem seeks a 100% carbon neutral future.”
About One River Digital Asset Management:
One River Digital Asset Management is a leading asset manager in the emerging digital asset industry, with investment funds and bespoke strategies built to meet the unique needs of its institutional clients around the globe. The firm is a subsidiary of One River Asset Management, an innovative investment manager dedicated to delivering high-conviction absolute-return strategies that seeks to help its clients build superior portfolios. It sees the world in a period of major economic, policy and political transition, with the investment landscape shifting in ways that will make the coming decade look profoundly different from the past decade. Its strategies are built to profit from this dynamic environment while providing strong diversification benefits to traditional investment portfolios. Each is developed and managed by its diverse team of investment professionals with deep expertise in volatility, macro, inflation, digital asset and systematic trading/investing. One River manages over $2bln in institutional assets. The firm is headquartered in Greenwich, CT and was founded in 2013.
