Skybridge announces suspension of withdrawals from of its one crypto-exposed funds

Skybridge joins the crowd that has frozen crypto investors’ funds, although head Anthony Scaramucci says the suspension is a temporary measure with no fear of liquidation.

Skybridge Capital has suspended withdrawals from its Legion Strategies fund – one of the firm’s funds with crypto exposure. Founder Anthony Scaramucci confirmed the move July 19 in an interview on CNBC, after Bloomberg reported it a day earlier citing anonymous sources.

“Our board made the decision to temporarily suspend until we can raise capital inside the fund,” Scaramucci told CNBC. “The fund is unlevered, so there’s definitely no fear of any liquidation whatsoever and about 18% of the fund is in what we would call crypto exposure.” An independent board also took art in the decision, Scaramucci said.

“Our board made a decision to temporarily suspend until we can raise capital inside the fund and then make sure when people get out they get out orderly,” says @scaramucci. “About 18% of the fund is in what we would call #crypto exposure.” pic.twitter.com/j5AxY871n7

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) July 19, 2022

Scaramucci mentioned Bitcoin (BTC) and FTX stock as examples of the fund’s crypto exposure. Among other crypto-related companies listed as investments on the Skybridge website, not specifically linked to Legion Strategies, are Kraken, NYDIG, Helium, Lightning and Genesis Digital Assets. Scaramucci said the Legion Strategies fund was down 30% year-to-date, but up 5% in July.

Legion Strategies is an offshore fund based in the Cayman Islands that has about $250 million in it, according to Scaramucci. It is one of the smaller funds run by the company. This was the first time the fund had been suspended since its founding in 1994. Skybridge itself was founded in 2005.

Scaramucci told CNBC:

“Everybody signed an investor agreement, this type of flexibility, so I don’t think there are any surprises here given what’s going on in the overall market.”

Skybridge is among the financial services companies that have applied to list a Bitcoin exchange-traded fundand been rejected by the United Sates Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Skybridge made its first investments in Bitcoin in late 2020 and announced in April that it was repositioning itself to “eventually be a leading cryptocurrency asset manager and adviser.”