October 2021 – Market Commentary

Like clockwork, the market turned bullish to kick-off Q4 as BTC shot up 26% in the first week of the month, eventually setting a new all-time-high of ~$67k. It was a mixed month for L-1s as ETH posted a 43% return and DOT a 53% return; meanwhile, ADA was down 7% and AVAX down 4%. ETH established a new all-timehigh just above $4.4k and continues to show strength.

After years of waiting, the industry finally received approval for a Bitcoin ETF, albeit one that provides exposure via futures contracts rather than “physical”. The debut of these two vehicles (BITO and BTF) was rather stunning as volumes exceeded $1B within the first few days of trading. It’s clear that these vehicles provide easy access for brokerage accounts but their long-term impact on the trading behavior remains to be seen. The asset class continues to evolve and provide new access points and onramps to a legion of speculators. We expect that prices will continue to follow the volatile whims of reactionary investors simply chasing outsized returns and the perceived potential of this nascent asset class.

The Nest Fund posted an estimated 17.3% gain net of fees for the month of October bringing the YTD return (net of fees) to 112%.