On the latest episode of Epicenter Bitcoin, our hosts interviewed Jake Brukhman, the founder and managing director of Coinfund, as well as his chief alchemist Aleksandr Bulkin. The pair came to discuss some of the philosophy that goes into running a crypto fund, as well as some of the difficult business decisions they have to make on the priorities of investments, before talking about some of the promising technologies they are involved with.
As a rare treat, this episode also begins by introducing a new host to the regular lineup of the podcast. Dr. Friederike Ernst adds a precise and informative voice to the line of questioning in this interview with Coinfund, and her presence is sure to be a welcome feature on future episodes. Meher Roy, a regular host of the show, joined her in leading a thorough discussion of the issues at hand.
When asked what makes a crypto fund a crypto fund, Brukhman responded that there is essentially an entirely new asset class at play: crypto assets. He added that “each new asset class has unique properties that influence the people investing in it.”
To fully take advantage of these features, a fund must be structured with these assets in mind from the beginning. Sometimes, he claimed, a crypto fund heavily resembles a venture capitalist fund, while at other times it will deal with enough high-liquidity assets to more closely resemble a hedge fund.
Bulkin added that flexibility is absolutely paramount in this environment, adjusting business strategies not only to the whims of the market but also to new technologies, which is why his job title is “Chief Alchemist” rather than a more traditional title related to software development or managing. After all, he claimed, it’s always hard to predict where the space is going.
The remainder of the episode goes further into detail about the daily operations of the company, although Brukhman does at one point refuse to go into too much detail about their specific assets for security reasons. The whole discussion serves as an informative introduction to the crypto fund space.