Daniel Masters, former husband of JP Morgan CEO Blythe Masters, has entered the bitcoin sector by launching the Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund that will allow investors to use the digital currency.
Daniel Masters, ex-husband of JP Morgan’s chief financial officer Blythe Masters, has recently received permits from the Jersey authorities to launch the Global Advisors bitcoin investment fund that trades the digital currency to take advantage of the price differences.
Founded in 1999, the Global Advisors has been specializing on selling and buying commodities, such as oil and precious metals. Before establishing the fund together with his business partner Russell Newton, a 51-year-old Masters had been trading commodities for more than a decade. He worked at Shell international trading company, served as a trader at Phibro energy and managed energy business at JPMorgan.
In March, his former wife was named as chief executive officer of Digital Asset Holdings LLC, a bitcoin startup for trading financial assets using the blockchain technology. Last month, the company bought ledger platform Hyperledger and blockchain software firm Bits of Proof to become a distributed ledger provider.
The authorities have a lot of concerns regarding the use of digital currency for criminal purposes. Last May, the Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors about the risks of frauds in the bitcoin sector. There are a number of funds in the US that still need to obtain approvals.
According to Masters, before opening the fund, he went through a long process of getting all necessary permits from the Jersey Financial Services Commission.
Two years ago, Barry Silbert launched the similar fund, called Bitcoin Investment Trust. Although it still lacks the SEC approval, the investors can sell its stocks on an over-the-counter market. Another bitcoin exchange traded fund, set up by the Winklevoss brother, is expecting to obtain permits as well.
Despite the fact that banks are starting to investigate how they integrate the digital currency, it has not yet achieved widespread usage.
However, the interest in virtual currency is increasing. Matsers perceives bitcoin as an investment opportunity and compares it with the oil market, which is also volatile and sparsely regulated. He believes the demand for digital currency will increase in the near future.
“It will coexist with digital platforms such as Apple Pay and PayPal, which transfer conventional currency, but it will be used more in cross-border exchange,” Masters told the Financial Times.
Unlike the existing payment systems, the bitcoin technology gives a lot of opportunities that better integrate with our current digital lives.
With the new fund, which has already attracted 10 investors, Masters wants to increase the investments in the bitcoin sector. “The lesson of the last year or two is the more transparent, the more embracing of regulation, and the less libertarian and confrontational you are, the better your bitcoin business does,” he said.
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