Feynman Point Asset Management, a newly independent investment firm focused on digital assets and frontier technologies, has officially announced that it will be spun out of Republic, a New York-based investment firm known for its efforts in cryptocurrencies.
The move establishes the firm as a $300 million cryptocurrency hedge fund led by Joe Naggar, a veteran of the traditional finance world known for having deep roots in cryptocurrencies.
Feynman becomes independent, but his focus remains the same.
Joe Naggar's deep roots in crypto are no joke. He was a former partner at Stephen Tanenbaum's GoldenTree Asset Management for 16 years, overseeing the firm's $61 billion in credit assets. He started mining Bitcoin in 2013 and was among those who invested in projects such as Coinbase as well as Stacks and Algorand.
He began building a dedicated digital asset team within GoldenTree in 2022. But following a series of bankruptcies and regulatory crackdowns, including Celsius, Voyager Digital, and FTX, GoldenTree was sold less than two years later to New York-based investment firm Republic.
Well, Nagar and his team decided to go independent As Feynman Point Asset Management, an investment firm focused on digital asset markets and frontier technologies.
Mr. Nagar reassured that despite the changes, the company will continue to do exactly the same as before, and even more.
“An example is the Feynman Points Special Opportunities Fund, which we created to provide LPs with some of the best investment ideas and co-participate,” he said.
Throughout the transition, the fund has performed well with backers including L1D, a $600 million Swiss fund, and a New York-based blockchain investment group, generating net returns of over 42% annually since the fund's inception in 2022.
Its winning moves include buying Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) at a 40% discount to the underlying asset, early exposure to breakout decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, and an equity investment in Ripple, the developer of the cryptocurrency XRP. These investments have paid off well and could do even better in the future.
Nagar also expressed a vested interest in the growing digital asset treasury (DAT) sector, saying the firm has “invested in 15 to 17 different DATs,” including Tom Lee's Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Joe Rubin's Sharplink Gaming, Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Twenty One Capital, and Kyle Samani's Forward Industries.
“Some DATs are kind of moneymakers and don’t deserve attention, but others, by doing smart things, add real value to the ecosystem and investors,” Nagar added.
Hedge fund boom continues as private equity slumps
Feynman Point Asset Management's decision to spin out proves how mature the field has become. The new independent status allows Feynman Points to make bigger swings with fewer restrictions, further evidence of a broader hedge fund boom.
A significant number of traditional funds have been dipping their toes into crypto over the past few months, with big players like Brevan Howard and Pantera raising billions of dollars, highlighting how hedge funds and crypto strategies are gaining traction in the world of alternative investments.
Meanwhile, private equity and credit funding, once Wall Street's most reliable money magnets, continues to slow. In the past, these private markets absorbed huge amounts of cash, with funds closing in record time and little discussion about where the next dollar would go.
Fundraising has now reportedly fallen to its lowest level in years, hampered by exit jams and investors waiting for liquidity to flow back.
In fact, data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. shows private credit is in its weakest year since 2018, and funding schedules are running at nearly two years, the longest since the financial crisis.
