BitMEX's holding company backs new investment fund Cadenza
Quick Take
- 100x Group, the holding company of BitMEX, has invested in Cadenza Capital Management, a fund focused on digital finance
- Cadenza is run by the same people who used to run 100x Ventures, the company’s venture wing
100x Group, the holding company connected to derivatives exchange BitMEX, has backed a new investment fund named Cadenza Capital Management.
The fund is run by managing partners Kumar Dandapani and Max Shapiro, who used to manage BitMEX’s venture capital arm 100x Ventures. Dandapani was head of ventures at 100x Group from 2018 until 2020, while Shapiro served as an investment manager for the same period.
A 100x Group spokesperson told The Block its own venture arm remains active despite the departures of Dandapani and Shapiro, who appear to have taken up roles at Cadenza at the start of this year.
“100x Group continues to actively pursue strategic investments and acquisitions within the crypto ecosystem. The group is also an investor in funds, including Cadenza Capital Management,” said 100x's spokesperson.
While Cadenza is separate to the 100x, its management team continues to provide support to the group, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In October, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against BitMEX – which 100x describes as its “cornerstone” – and its owner-operators, including chief executive Arthur Hayes.
BitMEX’s founders were accused of operating an unregistered trading platform, as well as of violating anti-money laundering and know-your-customer rules. Later in October, a 100x spokesperson called the DoJ’s charges heavy-handed and vowed to fight them.
A LinkedIn profile for Cadenza Capital Management describes it as a San Francisco-based investment firm with a focus on digital finance. Crypto lending business BlockFi and Bahrain-based crypto exchange Rain are listed among its noteworthy investments.
According to their own LinkedIn profiles, both Dandapani and Shapiro took up their posts at Cadenza in 2021, suggesting its formation is recent. The Block contacted both Dandapani and Shapiro by LinkedIn but did not receive responses by the time of publication.
On February 3, crypto security startup Casa announced that Cadenza Ventures had contributed to its $4m seed round.
Correction: This report has been updated to reflect that Casa recently closed a seed round, not a Series A round.
© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
