(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Steven Cohen has invested in a hedge fund focusing on cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based companies, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The investment was made through his Cohen Private Ventures, said the person, who asked not to be named because the information is private. The hedge fund, Autonomous Partners, was started last year by Arianna Simpson, an early advocate of cryptocurrencies. It has also secured investments from Union Square Ventures, Coinbase Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong and Craft Ventures Co-Founder David Sacks, Simpson said in an interview Thursday.
Simpson said she is interested in investing in cryptocurrencies that serve as general purpose money and companies that are building the next generation of financial infrastructure. Autonomous Partners also invests in some large cap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, she said.
Cohen Private Ventures invests in private equity and other longer-term investments on behalf of Cohen, who runs Point72 Asset Management. A representative for the firm declined to comment.
Crypto-dedicated funds have taken off recently. Of the 249 crypto funds that have opened, 70 percent did so last year, according to Autonomous Research. Despite this year's collapse in digital coin values, hedge fund managers and other investors have continued to wade into the asset class.
Fortune reported the Cohen investment earlier Thursday.
Read more about hedge funds in crypto here
--With assistance from Saijel Kishan and Katia Porzecanski.
To contact the reporter on this story: Katrina Lewis in Boston at klewis128@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Melissa Karsh, Alan Mirabella
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