HFR launches blockchain and cryptocurrency indices

Hedge fund data provider HFR has launched two new indices to reflect investor interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, with the HFR Blockchain Composite Index and HFR Cryptocurrency Index.

HFR’s blockchain index includes funds that invest in blockchain technology, cryptocurrency or other new innovations around blockchain. The HFR Blockchain Composite Index has two constituent strategies, cryptocurrency and infrastructure, and has performance data going back to 2015, with annualised performance of 282% since inception. The HFR Cryptocurrency Index includes all funds investing and trading directly in cryptocurrency.

HFR president, Kenneth Heinz, said: “While the recent performance has been exciting, trading and investing in these evolving areas requires specialised expertise and involves substantial volatility and risks, both real and structural. Taking these risks into consideration, it is likely that the evolving fundamental disintermediation of traditional payment processing associated with blockchain and cryptocurrencies will continue to grow in an absolute sense and as a component of hedge fund exposures.”