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WebN supported pioneering digital asset companies such as KAIO, Twinstake, TruFin, and Geometry.
Gautam Sharma, CEO & CIO, Brevan Howard Digital (Consensus modified by CoinDesk)
What to know:
- WebN secured funding from Japanese bank Nomura’s crypto partnership, Laser Digital, in 2023.
- According to a source close to the firm, hedge fund Brevan Howard continues to be optimistic about crypto.
WebN Group, the blockchain and Web3 incubator supported by billionaire Alan Howard, is shutting down after nurturing a number of digital infrastructure startups over recent years, as indicated by a source familiar with the situation.
Recently, the venture studio has backed tokenization expert Libre (now known as KAIO), crypto staking firm Twinstake, blockchain infrastructure company TruFin, and zero-knowledge proofs startup Geometry.
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Alongside Howard, WebN also received an undisclosed investment from Japanese bank Nomura’s crypto partnership, Laser Digital, in 2023.
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The incubator was noted to have “successfully completed its mission,” according to the source. Some employees from WebN transitioned to Brevan Howard, the hedge fund established by Howard, as mentioned by the source.
The decision to shut down the WebN incubator does not impact Howard’s ambitions in the digital asset space, according to a person familiar with the WebN situation.
“Those acquainted with Alan understand his long-standing belief that blockchain technology would find application in traditional markets,” the person stated.
The past year has been challenging for firms exposed to crypto. Brevan Howard’s digital asset fund reportedly experienced a near 30% loss last year, as per a Financial Times report. This follows increases of 52% in 2024 and 43% in the preceding year.
Similar to many other hedge funds, Brevan Howard has reduced its bitcoin ETF holdings, decreasing its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust by approximately 85%, according to Bloomberg and CF Benchmarks data.
2025 also marked the exit of BH Digital CEO Gautam Sharma, who had been managing crypto investments at the firm for several years. Brevan Howard also decided to separate Nova, a hedge fund operated by former Dragonfly investor Kevin Hu, who joined the firm with his own capital pool in 2023 as part of an acquisition.
“Brevan Howard is not deterred by temporary fluctuations, remains positive about digital assets, and has a robust VC business focused on a wide array of opportunities,” stated the source.
WebN Group did not respond to inquiries for comment. Brevan Howard opted not to provide a statement.
