Pimco Dipping Some of Its $2.2 Trillion Into Crypto

Global investment manager Pimco has indicated an interest in increasing its cryptocurrency exposure and possibly trading them.

The fixed-income investment firm, which manages approximately $2 trillion worth of assets as of the end of last year, would soon include the trading of some cryptocurrencies on its platform as part of its services.

The information was disclosed by Daniel Ivascyn, Chief Investment Officer of Pimco, in a recent interview with CNBC.

“Now we’re looking at potentially trading certain cryptocurrencies as part of our trend-following or quant-oriented strategies, then doing more work on the fundamental side,” said Ivascyn.

He however admitted that some of Pimco’s hedge fund portfolios have already begun trading crypto-linked securities, using that “very narrow segment of our business” as a starting point.

“We’re trading from a relative value perspective. So we’re not taking directional exposure, but we’re looking to take advantage of mispricings between the cash product, popular trust that trades on the exchange, and then the futures.”

Ivascyn further commented, saying that digital assets offer a pretty significant value proposition for the present and future generations and have the potential to make a great impact on the financial industry, hence, the reason for Pimco’s adoption of cryptocurrencies.

He also noted that Pimco intends to be fully prepared to deal with any of the needs of its investors and the financial market in general, adding that it will take “baby steps in an area that’s rapidly growing.”

Pimco is not the first financial institution to take a similar step. Considering the growing rate of institutional interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the American firm surely won’t be the last.

A recent survey report revealed that a considerable number of hedge fund managers, in the United Kingdom, about 74% of them, plan to deepen their foray into the crypto space within the next two years.

In April, Coinfomania reported that European hedge fund company Brevan Howard Asset Management invested 1.5% of its capital ($84 million) in cryptocurrencies.

Also, the leading venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, launched its new $2.2 billion cryptocurrency fund that was to be invested in several blockchain and crypto-focused startups.

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