Key Takeaways
- • Brevan Howard's BH Digital Asset fund declined 29.5% in 2025, marking its worst calendar-year performance since the fund's 2021 inception, according to the Financial Times.
- • The fund significantly underperformed bitcoin, which fell only 6% in 2025, despite BH Digital Asset's stated focus on crypto tokens and digital asset-related companies.
- • BH Digital Asset posted strong returns in prior years—43% in 2023 and 52% in 2024—indicating a sharp reversal from the crypto market recovery cycle that characterized 2023–2024.
- • The fund's portfolio includes private equity and venture capital instruments alongside crypto holdings, which a hedge fund investor attributed to the underperformance relative to bitcoin during 2025's challenging digital asset environment.
Summary
Brevan Howard's cryptocurrency-focused fund BH Digital Asset suffered its worst annual performance since inception, declining 29.5% in 2025 as the digital asset market deteriorated and the bitcoin bull run faltered. According to reporting by the Financial Times, this marked a dramatic reversal for a fund that had generated substantial returns in the two preceding years, posting gains of 43% in 2023 and 52% in 2024 as the broader crypto market recovered from 2022 lows and bitcoin surged past $100,000 in December 2024.
The fund's 2025 losses exceeded the broader market decline, with bitcoin falling only 6% during the same period. This underperformance relative to bitcoin reflects the composition of BH Digital Asset's portfolio, which extends beyond direct cryptocurrency holdings. According to one hedge fund investor cited in the Financial Times report, the fund holds "a lot of private equity and venture capital type instruments" alongside crypto tokens, a structural characteristic that proved disadvantageous during 2025's downturn.
The 30% loss represents a significant departure from BH Digital Asset's track record since its 2021 launch. While the fund benefited substantially from the 2023–2024 crypto market recovery cycle, 2025 exposed concentration and allocation risks within its broader digital asset strategy. Industry observers characterized the environment as particularly challenging for crypto-focused vehicles, though the magnitude of BH Digital Asset's decline relative to bitcoin suggests portfolio composition and potential exposure to underperforming digital asset subcategories or related venture investments contributed to the loss.
Brevan Howard, a prominent London-based hedge fund manager, did not provide immediate comment on the fund's performance beyond the Financial Times disclosure.
The fund's 2025 losses exceeded the broader market decline, with bitcoin falling only 6% during the same period. This underperformance relative to bitcoin reflects the composition of BH Digital Asset's portfolio, which extends beyond direct cryptocurrency holdings. According to one hedge fund investor cited in the Financial Times report, the fund holds "a lot of private equity and venture capital type instruments" alongside crypto tokens, a structural characteristic that proved disadvantageous during 2025's downturn.
The 30% loss represents a significant departure from BH Digital Asset's track record since its 2021 launch. While the fund benefited substantially from the 2023–2024 crypto market recovery cycle, 2025 exposed concentration and allocation risks within its broader digital asset strategy. Industry observers characterized the environment as particularly challenging for crypto-focused vehicles, though the magnitude of BH Digital Asset's decline relative to bitcoin suggests portfolio composition and potential exposure to underperforming digital asset subcategories or related venture investments contributed to the loss.
Brevan Howard, a prominent London-based hedge fund manager, did not provide immediate comment on the fund's performance beyond the Financial Times disclosure.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.