NYDIG, a provider of institutional investment and technology solutions for bitcoin, announced that Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) has purchased a minority stake in the company. Along with a $5 million equity investment in NYDIG, MassMutual has also purchased $100 million in bitcoin for its general investment account. The firm’s bitcoin position is held on NYDIG’s secure, audited, and insured custody platform.
Robert Gutmann, co-founder and CEO of NYDIG, said in a statement: “The strategic equity investment of MassMutual… accelerates our white-label business segment, which provides bespoke implementations of our core custody, execution, financing, and AML/KYC capabilities to a rapidly expanding group of large financial institutions.”
With respect to MassMutual’s purchase of bitcoin, Gutmann said in the statement: “This reflects the expansion of bitcoin to insurance company general investment accounts, as well as NYDIG’s unique ability to meet the complex needs of the most demanding institutional investors.”
MassMutual’s equity investment comes during a period of substantial growth for NYDIG, which now has over $2.3 billion of digital asset balances under custody – including for a growing list of leading insurance company general investment accounts.
Tim Corbett, chief investment officer of MassMutual, said in a statement: “We believe that having an equity stake in NYDIG as well as a bitcoin position in our general investment account will help us deliver long-term value to our policy owners. We look forward to further exploring additional ways to work with NYDIG, consistent with our ongoing focus on innovation and diversification.”
Ross Stevens, founder and executive chair of NYDIG and founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Holdings Group, NYDIG’s parent company, said in a statement: “Since 2012 at Stone Ridge, and since 2017 at NYDIG, we have been quietly building our portfolio of business arks ahead of the no-yield flood, which is now in the early innings of submerging the world. Bitcoin – asymptotically unprintable sound money with an uncorrelated risk premium – is a cornerstone of our practice.”