Multicoin Capital Partners With Bitwise and Matthew Ball for Metaverse Crypto Index, Fund

Multicoin Capital has started a metaverse-focused crypto index in a new partnership with digital asset management firm Bitwise and venture capitalist Matthew Ball.

The new Ball Multicoin Bitwise Metaverse Index will include up to 40 crypto assets and a corresponding fund tracking the performance of the index will be offered through Bitwise.

The metaverse, a term that loosely describes a combination of virtual reality, augmented reality and the internet, appears to be the hottest segment in crypto by measure of institutional attention and dollars.

Last year, social media giant Facebook rebranded to Meta Platforms, and last month, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz closed a $600 million gaming and metaverse fund.

"The metaverse is one of the most audacious and exciting ideas ever conceived,” said Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital. “With literally thousands of crypto assets to choose from, underwriting the most investable opportunities is a never-ending challenge.”

Samani and Ball will serve on the index committee, alongside Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan and several others, according to a person familiar with the matter. The committee will determine which crypto assets to include in the index and their specific weighting.

“The index draws on a list of liquid crypto assets that pass a series of risk screens to ensure that they are appropriate for professional investors,” Ball said. “Those screens include items related to custody, liquidity, technological and regulatory risk, as well as screens like developer activity, revenues and fit to the metaverse category.”

The new partnership comes amid a sharp downturn in metaverse-related tokens with The Sandbox’s SAND token down 77% and Decentraland’s MANA token down 70%, compared with bitcoin’s 38% decline, year to date.

“Our investors believe that the Metaverse is inevitable and that blockchain-based protocols will be essential to its success,” Ball told CoinDesk. “The current downturn does not impact that conviction, except perhaps to make it an even more desirable investment.”

According to a press release, the Ball Multicoin Bitwise Metaverse Index Fund is available to select investors, with a $100,000 minimum investment and monthly redemptions.