Key Takeaways
- • Brevan Howard's BH Digital Asset fund posted a 29.5% loss in 2025, marking its worst annual performance since the fund's 2021 inception, significantly underperforming bitcoin's 6% decline for the year.
- • The crypto fund's steep decline follows consecutive years of strong gains (43% in 2023, 52% in 2024), driven by a broader crypto market correction and underperformance of its venture capital and digital asset holdings.
- • BH Digital Asset managed approximately $2.4 billion in assets at the start of 2025, with the fund's portfolio heavily weighted toward both direct crypto token positions and venture capital investments across the blockchain sector.
- • Brevan Howard is conducting staff layoffs targeting underperforming employees, following a pattern of workforce reductions (20% headcount cut in April 2024) as the firm contends with portfolio losses across both its crypto and flagship Master fund strategies.
- • Despite the 2025 losses, Brevan Howard's digital assets unit continued deploying capital throughout the year, while the firm's flagship Master fund gained less than 1% in 2025, indicating broad performance challenges across multiple strategies.
Summary
Brevan Howard's cryptocurrency fund endured its most severe drawdown since inception in 2025, with the BH Digital Asset fund declining 29.5% in value—a sharp reversal from two consecutive years of robust gains. According to the Financial Times and corroborated by multiple sources including CoinDesk and The Block, the fund's collapse significantly underperformed bitcoin, which lost 6% during the same period. The fund had generated 43% returns in 2023 and 52% in 2024, capitalizing on the crypto market's recovery from 2022 lows and bitcoin's rally past $100,000 in December 2024. The 2025 reversal marks a dramatic shift in trajectory.
The BH Digital Asset fund, launched in 2021 with backing from Brevan Howard co-founder Alan Howard, invests across a diversified portfolio including direct cryptocurrency token holdings and venture capital positions within the blockchain ecosystem. This mixed approach contributed to the fund's underperformance relative to bitcoin; as one hedge fund investor noted to the Financial Times, "There are a lot of private equity and venture capital type instruments [in BH Digital Asset]. They have underperformed bitcoin but to give them credit, last year was terrible for crypto." The fund managed approximately $2.4 billion at the start of 2025, with the bulk of assets held within the BH Digital fund vehicle.
The 2025 performance decline occurred against a backdrop of broader crypto market weakness. Total crypto market capitalization declined 10.4% to $3.0 trillion—the first annual downturn since 2022—while bitcoin's initial rally gave way to a sharp fourth-quarter sell-off. Bitcoin has extended losses into 2026, trading below $68,000 and sitting more than 20% below its October 2025 peak. Beyond the crypto fund's struggles, Brevan Howard's flagship Master fund gained less than 1% in 2025, signaling performance challenges across multiple strategies.
In response to the deteriorating performance environment, Brevan Howard is conducting staff layoffs targeting underperforming employees within its crypto unit, according to Blockworks. This represents a continuation of workforce reductions at the firm; Brevan Howard previously cut 20% of its headcount in April 2024, with technology staff comprising the primary focus at that time. Despite the 2025 losses, the firm's digital assets team continued deploying capital throughout the year, indicating management's maintained conviction in the asset class despite near-term performance headwinds.
The BH Digital Asset fund, launched in 2021 with backing from Brevan Howard co-founder Alan Howard, invests across a diversified portfolio including direct cryptocurrency token holdings and venture capital positions within the blockchain ecosystem. This mixed approach contributed to the fund's underperformance relative to bitcoin; as one hedge fund investor noted to the Financial Times, "There are a lot of private equity and venture capital type instruments [in BH Digital Asset]. They have underperformed bitcoin but to give them credit, last year was terrible for crypto." The fund managed approximately $2.4 billion at the start of 2025, with the bulk of assets held within the BH Digital fund vehicle.
The 2025 performance decline occurred against a backdrop of broader crypto market weakness. Total crypto market capitalization declined 10.4% to $3.0 trillion—the first annual downturn since 2022—while bitcoin's initial rally gave way to a sharp fourth-quarter sell-off. Bitcoin has extended losses into 2026, trading below $68,000 and sitting more than 20% below its October 2025 peak. Beyond the crypto fund's struggles, Brevan Howard's flagship Master fund gained less than 1% in 2025, signaling performance challenges across multiple strategies.
In response to the deteriorating performance environment, Brevan Howard is conducting staff layoffs targeting underperforming employees within its crypto unit, according to Blockworks. This represents a continuation of workforce reductions at the firm; Brevan Howard previously cut 20% of its headcount in April 2024, with technology staff comprising the primary focus at that time. Despite the 2025 losses, the firm's digital assets team continued deploying capital throughout the year, indicating management's maintained conviction in the asset class despite near-term performance headwinds.
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