Skybridge Capital has suspended withdrawals from the Legion Strategies Fund – one of the company’s funds with exposure to cryptocurrency. Founder Anthony Scaramucci confirmed the move Tuesday in an interview on CNBC after Bloomberg reported it the day before, citing anonymous sources.
“Our board made the decision to temporarily suspend until we can raise capital within the fund,” Scaramucci told CNBC. “The fund is not leveraged, so there is definitely no fear of any liquidation at all, and about 18% of the fund is in what we call crypto exposure.” Scaramucci said an independent board of directors was also involved in the decision.
Scaramucci cited Bitcoin (BTC) and FTX stocks as examples of the fund’s exposure to cryptocurrencies. Other crypto-related companies listed as investments on Skybridge’s website, not specifically linked to Legion Strategies, are Kraken, NYDIG, Helium, Lightning, and Genesis Digital Assets. The Legion Strategies fund is down 30% year-to-date, Scaramucci said, but is up 5% in July.
Legion Strategies is an offshore fund based in the Cayman Islands with an investment volume of approximately $250 million, according to Scaramucci. It is one of the smaller funds managed by the company. This was the first time the fund had been suspended since its founding in 1994. Skybridge itself was established in 2005.
Scaramucci told CNBC:
“Everyone has signed an investor agreement, and that kind of flexibility, so I don’t think there are any surprises here given what’s happening in the market as a whole.”
Skybridge is among the financial services companies that have applied to list a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) and have been rejected by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Related: Scaramucci sees a bright future for cryptocurrency but is ‘extremely concerned’ about US politicians
Skybridge made its first investments in Bitcoin in late 2020 and announced in April that it was repositioning itself as “ultimately a leading manager and advisor for crypto assets.”
