US investment firm falls victim to crypto fraudsters

Crypto retail investors have often been the victims of hacks and scams within the industry. Now a major investment firm is on the receiving end. 

BlockTower Capital’s main hedge fund has been compromised and partially drained by fraudsters, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified discussing sensitive information. The company has $1.7 billion in assets under management, according to data provider PitchBook. 

The funds are still missing and the hacker has not been apprehended, but the firm has employed blockchain forensics analysts to determine how the money was stolen and recently informed its limited partners about the heist, one of the people said. BlockTower declined to comment on the hack when contacted by Bloomberg.

Crypto hacks continue to rock the digital asset industry with fraudsters stealing about $1.7 billion from projects last year, according to research firm TRM Labs. 

Founded in 2017, BlockTower has offices in Miami and New York and has invested in companies that include nonfungible token developer Dapper Labs, gaming studio Sky Mavis and Terraform Labs, creator of the failed TerraUSD stablecoin. The firm raised a $150 million venture fund in 2022. 

The hack is not the first setback for BlockTower. Last year, the company wound down its “market-neutral” crypto fund, which oversaw more than $100 million at one point, after investment opportunities for the strategy dried up.