This UK Asset Management Firm Made $1.1 Billion From Bitcoin in 5 Months
Ruffer, a London-based asset management firm, made a whopping $1.1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,000 crore) profit in just five months from its investment in Bitcoin. The company invested around $600 million (roughly Rs. 4,369 crore) back in November 2020 when the digital currency was trading at around $20,000 (Rs 14.5 lakh). By December 2020 and early January 2021, Bitcoin’s price had nearly doubled and the company capitalised on that. A few months later, in April, when Bitcoin touched record highs and traded at over $60,000 (roughly Rs. 43.6 lakh), the company decided to sell its coins.
The London-based company said that it decided to sell its Bitcoin investment because it wasn’t expecting younger people to spend as much time on trading as the lockdown restrictions were being lifted.
“When the price doubled, we took some profits for our clients in December and early January. We actively managed the position, and by the time we sold the last tranche in April, the total profit was slightly more than $1.1 billion,” Hamish Baillie, an investment director at Ruffer, told The Sunday Times.
Ruffer was the first fund manager to invest in Bitcoins in what was a rare short-term investment. However, Baillie added that future investments in the cryptocurrency were “certainly not off the menu”. He also predicted that institutions will continue to repose faith in Bitcoin and opt for it as an alternative heaven asset for their portfolios.
Baillie was also critical of “hyperbole and misinformation” around Bitcoin’s energy consumption that Tesla CEO Elon Musk — despite being a big cryptocurrency enthusiast — cited as the reason for his company to stop accepting the digital asset as a mode of payment for cars.
Over the past few weeks, Bitcoin price in India, as is true for Dogecoin price in India as well as some other popular cryptocurrencies has been going through a rough phase, especially after China banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions last month. The country also warned investors against speculative crypto trading.
