Victory Capital Entering Crypto Market Through Nasdaq

Victory Capital announced it will be entering the cryptocurrency market in partnership with Hashdex and Nasdaq.

Victory Capital will sponsor private placement funds based on the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI). The NCI is a multi-coin crypto index co-developed by Nasdaq and Hashdex. The funds will be available to accredited investors.

Victory Capital will also be offering private funds tracking Nasdaq’s Bitcoin Reference Price Index, in addition to the Nasdaq’s Ethereum Price Index. Having co-developed the NCI with Nasdaq, Hashdex will also be providing its trading and asset management expertise to each of these products as well.

Nasdaq crypto index (NCI)

Nasdaq and Hashdex developed the NCI to address rapidly growing institutional investor interest in digital assets. They designed the rule-based index to be dynamic in nature and broadly representative of the cryptocurrency market. It uses strict eligibility criteria, while also being rebalanced quarterly in order to maintain an up-to-date representation of this market. Additionally, the NCI debuted in Hashdex’s native Brazil on April 26 on the country’s B3 exchange.

Mannik Dhillon of Victory Solutions at Victory Capital Management highlighted some of the benefits the NCI provides for investors. For instance, he noted that it enables them to gain exposure to multiple digital assets in a diversified manner. He also added that his firm is “actively considering other vehicles and wrappers to bring these capabilities to a broader set of investors.”

Hashdex history

Based in Rio de Janiero, Hashdex was founded in 2018. Its founders include former Microsoft Corp. executive Marcelo Sampaio and Bruno Caratori. The firm currently has around 4 billion reals (roughly $763 million) under management. Headcount will reportedly rise from 25 to 100 by the end of the year, bolstered by plans for opening of new offices outside Brazil.

Some $26 million Hashdex recently raised in funding will enable these plans. Prominent investors included SoftBank Group Corp. and Coinbase Ventures, an arm of the U.S.’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. However, a majority of the funds came from venture capital firm Valor Capital Group. Additional investors also included Brazil’s Igah Ventures, Globo Ventures, and Canary.