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Bitcoin Rises; Crypto Funds Report Losses in Q1

Published 04/19/2018, 09:00 AM
Updated 04/19/2018, 09:00 AM
© Reuters.  Bitcoin was higher on Thursday.

© Reuters. Bitcoin was higher on Thursday.

Investing.com - Bitcoin and other virtual coins were higher on Thursday, while cryptocurrency hedge funds reported massive losses in the first quarter of 2018.

Bitcoin was trading at $8,250.5, rising 1.77% as of 9:00 AM ET (1:00GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange.

While Bitcoin was higher, it was still far from its peak of $20,000 in December. Hedge funds that jumped on the crypto craze have reported massive losses as the virtual currencies have fallen in price and popularity.

Data provider Hedge Fund Research said its index tracking performance of fund managers investing in digital currencies posted double-digit losses in the first quarter of the year.

The HFR Blockchain Composite Index slumped 46%, while the HFR Cryptocurrency Index lost 45.34% during the same period. Meanwhile, BarclayHedge’s Cryptocurrency Traders Index fell 43.1% year-to-date.

“Folks have their opinions, but no one really knows if it’s a bubble or a correction,” Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge said in a press release.

In other news, Citigroup (NYSE:C) is looking for bitcoin experts to join its anti-money laundering group. According to an ad on LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), the financial services giant is looking for a vice president and senior vice president to explore the risks associated with money laundering in cryptocurrency markets.

The company previously banned its clients from using its credit cards for cryptocurrency related purchases. Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are often associated with money laundering because the service can often be used anonymously.

Other virtual currencies were higher, with rival Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rising 4.89% to $543.36 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, increased 4.62% to $0.72219 while Litecoin was at $141.24, an increase of 2.87%.

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