Eric Jackson, the activist hedge fund investor known for his contrarian bets, is launching a digital-asset treasury (DAT) company – EMJ Crypto Technologies – just as the corporate crypto-holding model faces a downturn, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The new venture will focus on a diversified basket of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ether, aiming to offer a “Gen-2” treasury approach to weather market volatility.
Jackson, who has a track record with companies such as Carvana and Opendoor, said the firm will differentiate itself from existing single-asset treasuries by building risk management systems and hedging positions with options to mitigate drawdowns. “It’s almost like you are running a mini hedge fund within your treasury company to make some income,” he explained.
The DAT will be integrated into SRx Health Solutions Inc, which announced on Tuesday it plans to acquire EMJ Crypto Technologies. Jackson is expected to serve as CEO of the combined firm once the deal closes early next year. SRx shareholder Keystone Capital Partners has pledged up to $1bn to support the strategy, according to a recent SEC filing.
Jackson’s move comes as many corporate crypto-holding strategies have suffered amid a broader market slump. Bitcoin has fallen roughly 30% since its October peak, while Strategy Inc, the pioneer of the corporate treasury model, has seen its shares decline 44% year-to-date, with its market-to-bitcoin net asset value ratio collapsing from over 2 to 1.1.
Despite the bearish backdrop, Jackson is leveraging his hedge fund experience. He currently runs the $10m EMJ Capital Ltd in Toronto and has a history of activist positions in companies including Yahoo, Carvana, Opendoor, and Nextdoor. He also intends to license some of his in-house risk management technology to other DATs, emphasising value creation beyond simply holding crypto assets.
