Journalist
Sead Fadilpašić
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Digital asset banking group Sygnum has completed the seed phase of the Starboard Sygnum BTC Alpha Fund. In the first four months, they raised “over 750” Bitcoin (BTC) from investors.
This response from professional and institutional investors, the press release says, shows “growing interest in actively managed Bitcoin strategies.” More specifically, these strategies can generate yield independent of spot price movements, Sygnum says.
The BTC Alpha Fund utilises institutional-grade service providers. Qualified professional investors in approved markets, including Switzerland and Singapore, can leverage its services.
The partners claim that the fund enables investors to grow BTC holdings over time while maintaining full exposure to the long-term price potential of the world’s number one crypto.
“The strategy captures pricing dislocations across major crypto markets by leveraging arbitrage opportunities between spot and derivatives instruments,” they explain.
At the same time, it maintains “a market-neutral exposure that seeks to limit reliance on Bitcoin’s day-to-day price movements.”
Moreover, the fund is integrated with Sygnum’s banking services. Select clients can access fund shares as collateral for USD Lombard Loans, therefore accessing “liquidity for other opportunities without selling their fund positions.”
This offer aims to solve what the team sees as an issue for long-term Bitcoin holders.
Nikolas Skarlatos of Starboard Digital Strategies commented that “generating yield on Bitcoin and still maintaining exposure to its appreciation potential has been a persistent challenge for institutional investors.”
Q4 Sees Annualised 8.9% Net Return
Sygnum cited a report that stated 68% of institutional investors have invested in BTC exchange-traded products or plan to do so. Interest in professionally managed, yield-generating strategies is increasing.
This is what the BTC Alpha Fund provides, it says.
Sygnum and Starboard Digital Strategies launched the Starboard Sygnum BTC Alpha Fund in October 2025. Starboard Digital is an Athens-based team that designs and operates proprietary and regulated asset solutions, market-neutral strategies, and tailored investment products.
Upon its launch, the fund’s stated target was 8%-10% annual returns in BTC through market-neutral arbitrage trading.
Per this latest press release, the fund delivered an annualised 8.9% net return in BTC for the last quarter of 2025.
Per Markus Hämmerli, head of the BTC Alpha Fund, “the fund’s Q4 performance demonstrates that professional Bitcoin management can deliver meaningful results even when spot markets are flat or declining.”
Notably, the teams note that investors are turning “from pure directional calls to generating additional returns that can hold up across different market conditions.”
This comes at the time when exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows “swing sharply,” and spot BTC is seeing “a structurally declining volatility.”
The team behind it says that they designed the novel fund specifically for those investors pursuing yield within an institutional-grade structure. It offers monthly liquidity and keeps assets off-exchange.
“As Bitcoin becomes a core portfolio allocation for institutional investors, we’re seeing growing demand for strategies that can generate returns beyond simple price appreciation,” Hämmerli concludes.
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