• IDEG opens segregated portfolio company vehicle in the British Virgin Islands
• Announces new thematic fund product shelf, called T-I-M-E-S, with public debut of IDEG Ethereum Trust to qualifying investors
• Appoints Coinbase Prime a strategic partner

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEG Asset Management Limited (IDEG), a professional digital asset manager, announced today that it has debuted its T-I-M-E-S product shelf of thematic digital asset funds with strategic support from Coinbase Prime.

IDEG has added the Ethereum Enhanced Portfolio to its T-I-M-E-S product offering, following the successful launch of its Asia Bitcoin Trust and Atlas Mining Trust in 2019. The Ethereum Enhanced Portfolio is an actively managed investment vehicle tracking the performance of Ethereum, combined with an arbitrage strategy capturing spot and futures basis to enhance investor returns while reducing the often-volatile delta exposure of the asset. The strategy aims to outperform Ethereum.

The T-I-M-E-S suite of products offers qualifying investors a professionally managed and third party custodied, exposure to digital assets, managed through IDEG's rigorous compliance, risk and internal controls processes, offering a mix of thematic strategies with varying risk profiles that spans Trust, Interest, Mining, Yield Earning, and Structured solutions. IDEG is planning to launch additional thematic funds under the T-I-M-E-S umbrella in 2022, with actively manage multi-coin, decentralized finance (DeFi) yield farming, and GameFi/Metaverse play-to-earn (P2E) strategies being piloted in-house.

"Institutional investors find it difficult to include DeFi "on-chain" strategies into their asset allocation despite the potential positive returns beyond buy and hold strategies. IDEG's portfolio of managed fund products offer excellent alternative solutions to gain varied crypto exposure," said Emma Hu, Product Partner of IDEG. "The Ethereum Enhanced Portfolio is our first of such products, providing qualifying investors an opportunity to capitalize on Ethereum, the most renowned smart-contract platform, while enhancing risk-adjusted returns compared to holding Ethereum."

Chief Compliance Officer and COO, Suen Son Poon added, "Investor protection is paramount to us. With ambitious product development in our future, the SPC route provides us significant operational flexibility and shows our commitment to investor protections. We have enjoyed a positive relationship with Coinbase as both an early investor by our group's venture arm, Fundamental Labs, and as institutional client of Coinbase, with the inception of our first Trusts as early as 2019. As we expand, the need for a reputable, compliance-focused partner to meet our unique trading needs and to safeguard our assets, and by extension safeguard the investments of our clients, led us back to Coinbase as our preferred prime broker and custodian."

"We are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with IDEG and supporting their development of innovative crypto investment products. We are committed to providing best-in-class service to help achieve shared success, attract more professional and institutional investors into the space and to see further growth in the market," said Kayvon Pirestani, Head of Coinbase Institutional Sales, APAC.

Hu added, "It's time for institutional investors to include digital assets in their asset allocation strategies. Traditional large investors need to understand that there are trusted and professional managers that can take away much of the complexity and anxiety that comes from self-trading through volatile markets. "

PwC Legal and Advisory advised on the structuring of IDEG's BVI SPC, while Ascent is the Ethereum Enhanced Portfolio fund administrator.

More about IDEG and T-I-M-E-S

IDEG is a digital asset-only asset management group of companies.

IDEG Asset Management Limited is IDEG Group's offshore fund manager, a BVI Approved Manager licensed with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission. IDEG Asset Management Limited acts as investment manager to various products in the T-I-M-E-S product shelf.

IDEG has pioneered a multi-strategy thematic product shelf, T-I-M-E-S, allowing accredited and institutional investors to access digital asset market opportunities with varying risk exposure. T-I-M-E-S includes actively managed Trust products; Interest earning products; Mining backed products; Earnings products with exposure to DeFi strategies; and Structured solutions that are tailored to the needs of the investor.

In 2019, IDEG launched Asia's first Bitcoin Trust and the Atlas Mining Trust. Unlike passively managed funds and trusts, Asia Bitcoin Trust I is an enhanced Bitcoin trust, which seeks to improve returns by using active management by applying a range of hedging and arbitrage strategies to enhance returns for the investors while effectively controlling the risk of drawdowns. The funds are open only to qualifying investors.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: No interests in securities are being offered by virtue of this press release. None of these securities have been registered for public offering with any securities regulator in any jurisdiction and are not available for retail or public subscription. Digital assets investing involves significant risk and a potential for total loss of capital. You are advised to seek independent professional financial and legal advice. Regulatory status is not an endorsement by any regulator.  No regulator has approved or endorsed this publication.