On February 8, 2022, I announced that Betterment had acquired Makara. The thread I posted that morning told the story of how we got there. This is that story, cleaned up a bit for reading.
The whole thing started nearly five years earlier, born out of a simple thesis: there had to be a better way to invest in crypto.
Three days after Bitcoin's 2017 peak at around $20k, I reached out to Sadie Raney with an off-the-wall idea. The nascent crypto markets had zero purpose-built investment management tools. That felt like an opportunity to radically change how investments in crypto could be made.
Alongside Nico Cordeiro, we launched Strix Leviathan on the belief that quantitative investing, powered by a purpose-built platform, could drive compelling results.
For the next 3 years, we toiled away to build that platform. We called it Octopus. It was one of the most comprehensive software suites designed to exclusively trade crypto markets.
Using Octopus, our team operated a quantitative hedge fund trading only crypto. We were proud of what we built, and we came to recognize it solved a huge problem with this asset class: for most investors, it's rather intimidating.
But organized as a fund, Strix could only accept high net worth investors. The broader investing public was left out. Investing in crypto can be confusing, intimidating, and for many, unapproachable. That didn't sit right with us.
In November of 2020, our team began to recognize there was an opportunity to build a better investment vehicle. We envisioned something akin to a crypto mutual fund, but digitally native. We believed in diversification, in thematic exposure, and in choice. Makara was born.
For the following seven months, our team worked day and night to develop a regulated investment platform designed to make the complexities of crypto simple. I do believe this was the hardest year spent in my 25-year entrepreneurial career.
After obtaining our regulatory licensing in March 2021, Makara launched in May to a whirlwind of excitement. Our clients shared words of encouragement and their ideas for new capabilities. But most of all they shared how simple Makara was.
It was rewarding to know this is just what certain investors had been looking for. Over the summer of 2021, we began raising our Series A under the tagline "Building Betterment for Crypto."
So when Betterment's CEO Sarah Levy reached out in November, it felt like fate had aligned to bring our firms together. Betterment's history as a leading digital investment advisor, coupled with our purpose-built crypto investment platform, made for a formidable combination.
Betterment believes in making the complex simple. Their investment philosophy, and their belief in operating as a fiduciary for their clients, is one hundred percent aligned with Makara's beliefs.
Together, we planned to build the best platform to invest in crypto. A platform that goes beyond day trading. One designed for all investors to participate in one of the most dynamic asset classes in history, as part of their diversified portfolio.
Our team had toiled tirelessly to build something very special, and it was an honor to work alongside them to build this business.
As this chapter comes to an end, we celebrate all that we accomplished, while looking forward with the highest of expectations for the great adventure we shall write in the chapter ahead.