A millennial-focused asset manager backed by Will Smith and Kevin Durant just launched an actively managed crypto fund

• Titan, the fintech startup pitching mobile-first active management to millennials and Gen Z, launched a crypto fund on Wednesday as mainstream interest in the asset class continues to build.
• Titan believes crypto has "phenomenal" room to grow while acting as a hedge against stocks, co-founder Clayton Gardner told Insider.
• Somewhat exceptionally, the crypto fund's biggest holding will not be bitcoin, Gardner said. Instead, Titan is bullish on ethereum.

Titan, the fintech startup pitching mobile-first active management to millennials and Gen Z, launched a crypto fund on Wednesday as mainstream interest in the asset class continues to build.

The fund, called Titan Crypto, promises to steward investor capital with long-term bets on digital assets, which Titan believes has "phenomenal" room to grow while acting as a hedge against stocks, co-founder Clayton Gardner told Insider.

Where investing in crypto can be stressful, Titan wants to step in without requiring investors to simply ride the roller coaster of crypto's volatile price action, he said, striking a contrast with index-tracking crypto funds like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

The fund, said Gardner, is "absolutely a foray into a market that we're committed to for the next several decades. This is not a quick [attempt] to play in crypto."

Titan's millennial and Gen Z focus has attracted high-profile backings from the likes of Will Smith and Kevin Durant. In July, it raised $58 million in a fundraise led by Andreessen Horowitz.

In exchange for its services, Titan charges a sizable fee across its funds: 1% of account value for investors with at least $10,000 or $5 per month for smaller users. That is smaller than the 2% Grayscale charges in its private bitcoin fund, but in line with other crypto products like those of VanEck.

Somewhat exceptionally, the crypto fund's biggest holding will not be bitcoin, Gardner said. Instead, Titan is bullish on ethereum - especially its emerging DeFi applications - and is allocating 50% of the fund to the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin will still play a part, composing about 30% of the fund, while other tokens like Cardano and Stellar will have smaller shares.