Crypto Asset Startup Mudrex Launches Mutual Fund-Like Crypto Investment Product

Crypto asset management platform Mudrex has launched ‘Coin Sets’ — a mutual-fund-like crypto investment product aimed at retail investors. The Bengaluru and San Francisco-based startup is backed by Nexus Venture Partners and Y Combinator. 

Founded in 2018 by Edul Patel, Rohit Goyal, Alankar Saxena, and Prince Arora, Mudrex seeks to simplify crypto investments for retail investors by packaging crypto tokens in a way that is similar to existing investment products like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. 

Coin Sets are ‘baskets’ containing different crypto tokens that all fall under a particular category or theme. For example, the ‘DeFi 10’ Coin Set has the top ten DeFi tokens and the ‘NFT’ Coin Set is a basket of the top 6 NFT projects. Just like mutual funds are managed by professional money managers, Coin Sets are managed by Mudrex’s experts. 

Concerns about stability, risks and security are some of the biggest hurdles in the way of widespread crypto adoption. Mudrex takes care of allocation, order execution, periodic rebalancing and diversification of these crypto portfolios to manage potential risks. 

“It is a mutual fund-like product with a better risk-reward ratio,” said Mudrex co-founder and CEO Edul Patel, commenting on the launch of Coin Sets. “The product is designed to expand retail participation in crypto investment, curated suitably for investors who look at crypto investments as long-term wealth creation.”

In a bid to diversify, many crypto exchanges and startups have introduced lending and investment products beyond their core offerings in the last few months.

For example, Ahmedabad-based crypto exchange platform ZebPay launched crypto-based fixed deposits and SIP options. Another Indian crypto exchange, WazirX, launched an NFT marketplace for Indian artists. 

Rise Of India’s Crypto Economy

Last month, Indian banks eased restrictions on the purchase of cryptocurrencies through their channels based on an RBI notification that came after a supreme court ruling which struck down a ‘crypto-ban’. 

In the background of this regulatory breathing room and other factors, India was ranked second- highest in terms of cryptocurrency adoption in the central and South Asia and Oceania regions. 

While India has the largest number of crypto users in the world with over 10 Cr users (according to BrokerChooser), the country ranks fifth when it comes to the number of crypto users as a percentage of the total population.

The popularity of mutual funds in the country has been on a steady increase for a number of years: the Indian Mutual Funds industry’s average assets under management (AUM) grew from INR 6.42 Tn in 2011 to INR 36.7 Tn in 2021: an increase of more than 550%.

This steady growth happened against the backdrop of mutual fund companies spending hundreds of crores on advertisements to inform and educate the Indian audience about mutual funds. With the launch of Coin Sets, Mudrex will be attempting to tap into Mutual Funds’ newfound ‘brand recall’ to market crypto products.