Meanwhile Group Launches Bitcoin Private Credit Fund for Institutional Investors

By: Isha Das

Meanwhile Group, a startup supported by prominent investors like Sam Altman and Gradient Ventures, has launched a Bitcoin investment vehicle named the Meanwhile BTC Private Credit Fund LP via its subsidiary, Meanwhile Advisors. The company has declared an intention to accumulate $100 million for the fund, promising a 5% yield in Bitcoin.

Investors will contribute in U.S. dollars, which will be changed into Bitcoin and lent out, generating a 5% return in Bitcoin. The unique strategy allows investors to grow their Bitcoin holdings without making additional principal investments. Offering more security than typical retail-oriented lending platforms, Meanwhile Advisors intends to lend Bitcoin to a carefully selected group of institutional borrowers. Anchorage Digital has been chosen as the fund's custodian.

Meanwhile Group Co-founder and CEO, Zac Townsend, has differentiated the fund's cautious lending approach to institutional borrowers from methods practiced by failed crypto lenders like BlockFi and Celsius, highlighting the fund's closed-end structure as a protection against bankruptcy risks. The fund's structure incorporates an investment period of three years and a four-year harvest period, during which returns are distributed to investors.

The introduction of the fund coincides with increasing anticipation for a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF filed by significant companies like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments recently. Townsend believes such an ETF would increase institutional interest in Bitcoin, thereby enhancing its value and the fund's Bitcoin-denominated returns.