The digital asset banking group Sygnum announced this Wednesday that its specialized fund has captured more than seven hundred fifty units of the leading cryptocurrency. Through an institutional Bitcoin yield strategy, the financial vehicle achieved an annualized return of 8.9% during the fourth quarter of last year. This milestone underscores the growing appetite of professional investors for structured products that generate consistent benefits over time.
Originally launched in October 2025, the Starboard Sygnum BTC Alpha Fund attracted interest from institutions looking to diversify their digital portfolios effectively. According to the official spokesperson and head of portfolio management at Sygnum, Markus Hämmerli, the fund reflects a shift toward products that outperform simple price appreciation alone. In this way, the entity has managed to capitalize on global market inefficiencies to offer stable returns in a high volatility environment.
The seed capital phase concluded successfully, accumulating an approximate value of sixty-six million dollars at current market prices. By implementing arbitrage tactics, the bank has demonstrated that it is possible to profit even when spot prices suffer significant pullbacks. Therefore, the institutional Bitcoin yield strategy is positioned as a robust alternative for those who wish to maintain exposure to the asset without depending on its rise.
Implementing arbitrage and relative value strategies across centralized exchanges
The fund’s operational success lies in its ability to execute leveraged carry trade operations and arbitrage across various commercial platforms. By using advanced blockchain infrastructure to monitor price dislocations, the management team manages to capture inefficiencies in futures and options markets on a continuous basis. Likewise, gains are accumulated directly in Bitcoin, allowing the net asset value of the shares to grow organically above the traditional market performance.
Furthermore, the collaboration with the Greek firm Starboard Digital has been fundamental in validating this institutional-grade investment model. Nikolas Skarlatos, founder of Starboard, highlighted that the fund seeks to generate between 8% and 10% annual return under any financial weather conditions. Thanks to this neutral approach, the company offers a technical solution to the challenges investors face when trying to monetize their long-term digital asset holdings.
How does this fund manage to outperform the spot price performance of Bitcoin?
Unlike passive funds, this professionally managed strategy uses financial derivatives to hedge directional exposure while extracting value from volatility. Therefore, even if the underlying asset falls in its fiat valuation, the fund can increase the total amount of tokens in its possession. Because of this, institutional investors value the team’s ability to generate positive results in sideways or bearish markets in a consistent and reliable manner.
Finally, Sygnum has shown that the cryptocurrency market is maturing toward much more sophisticated and resilient financial structures. The adoption of these strategies suggests that the future of digital investment will not depend exclusively on price speculation. Nevertheless, efficiency in arbitrage execution will remain the determining factor in maintaining these performance levels. Consequently, the bank will continue to expand its product offering to meet the demands of the most discerning global capital.
