Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital limited redemptions as bets on FTX and crypto resulted in a 39% loss last year
- Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital suffered a 39% loss in its top funds in 2022, according to Bloomberg.
- That's due to losing bets on FTX and cryptocurrencies, pushing investors to pull their money out.
SkyBridge Capital's biggest funds suffered a 39% loss in 2022 thanks to losing bets on FTX and cryptocurrencies, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The firm's largest fund was rocked in November by FTX's collapse. Cryptocurrencies made up some 28% of the fund, while its stake in FTX accounted for 14%.
FTX filed for bankruptcy in November amid a liquidity crisis and reports that its transferred billions of dollars in client funds to prop up Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research trading arm.
But even before FTX crashed, cryptocurrencies had been in a deep slump as other failures in the industry piled up earlier in the year.
SkyBridge investors asked to withdraw 60% of the top fund's capital in the September 30 redemption period, but it only returned 10%, according to filings cited by Bloomberg.
The firm has limited investor withdrawals to two requests per year. SkyBridge previously allowed investors four withdrawal requests per year and guaranteed as much as 25% of the capital would be returned.
The downfall of FTX, previously the world's second-largest crypto currency exchange before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the broader downturn of the crypto market in 2022 were largely to blame for SkyBridge's massive decline last year.
SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci and FTX founder Bankman-Fried had forged close ties over the past few years, and SkyBridge first bought equity in the exchange in 2021 and as recently as August.
But last week, Scaramucci accused Bankman-Fried of "betrayal" and "fraud" during a crypto panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
FTX also bought 30% of SkyBridge Capital for $45 million in September 2022, and the Financial Times reported that SkyBridge bought $10 million of FTX's cryptocurrency, FTT, as part of the deal's requirements. Earlier this week, he said he only got $400,000 back on that $10 million investment.
As for SkyBridge's equity stake in FTX, that is expected to be wiped out. Funds associated with SkyBridge were listed as owning 1.3 million Class A Common shares of West Realm Shires, the company that controls FTX's US-based exchange. Additionally, SkyBridge funds were listed as owning 244,196 common shares and 61,049 Series B-1 Preferred shares of FTX Trading.