Not all hedge fund managers are sold on crypto as Man Group CEO Luke Ellis has compared cryptocurrencies to tulip bulbs.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Ellis remarked that the utility of crypto comes from its volatility, thus presenting the asset class every bit a viable trading opportunity. According to the CEO of the world'southward largest publicly-traded hedge fund:

"If you wait at cryptocurrencies every bit a whole, information technology is a pure trading instrument. There is no inherent worth in information technology whatsoever. It is a tulip bulb."

Despite existence an outmoded comparison, crypto and Bitcoin (BTC), in particular, are often compared to the "Tulipmania" — a brief period where the price of some tulip bulbs soared exponentially in the Netherlands before eventually crashing.

Ellis stated that his $127-billion hedge fund is happy to merchandise crypto, as there is liquidity to support long or brusque bets, given the choppy price activeness of cryptocurrencies. For Ellis, Man Group's crypto involvement does not institute an endorsement of the cryptocurrencies as an asset class.

Co-ordinate to the Man Group CEO, the hedge fund does non offer crypto as an "nugget management production," but information technology is ane of the over 800 markets, in which the company trades.

Commenting on the prevailing crypto investment thesis, Ellis identified inflation every bit a major reason why cryptocurrencies are becoming more pop inside asset portfolios.

Indeed, Bitcoin proponents say BTC offers a hedge against inflation and monetary debasement, especially amid the current economic recovery efforts across the globe to cope with the COVID-xix pandemic.

Related: Hedge funds see the crypto market place decline as an investment opportunity

Ellis' comments come equally more hedge funds are becoming active in the crypto investment space. Back in June, Cointelegraph reported that Us-base hedge fund managers expect to concur over x% of their assets in crypto.

Bitcoin and the crypto marketplace dipping over l% since May has been identified equally an investment opportunity for big-money players in anticipation of a return to parabolic toll movements by the stop of the year.