LONDON - British fund manager Ruffer Investment Management exited its bitcoin bet in April with a $1.1 billion profit amid worries over risk after quick gains in the cryptocurrency's price, a spokesperson for the company said on Tuesday.
Ruffer made its bitcoin bet in November, in what was then one of the largest signals of rising institutional interest in the digital currency. By mid-December it was worth around 550 million pounds ($745 million).
"Long term, we remain interested in digital assets and the role they can play in real wealth preservation," the spokesperson said. "In the short term, following the sharp increase in the bitcoin price, we felt bitcoin was exhibiting more risk."
The cryptocurrency hit a record of almost $65,000 in April, but has since slumped by half. Ruffer's bitcoin profit was first reported by The Sunday Times.
(Reporting by Tom Wilson; Editing by Tom Arnold) ((T.Wilson@thomsonreuters.com; (44) 20 7513 5676; Reuters Messaging: t.wilson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
