Split Capital, a digital asset hedge fund, is closing its doors after its founder, Zaheer Ebtikar, announced he is joining stablecoin startup Plasma, which counts Peter Thiel among its backers. Ebtikar shared the news in a post on X on Tuesday, noting that the fund had been profitable in both 2024 and 2025 and had delivered returns exceeding 100%. He described Split Capital as a top-performing fund by conventional measures, but said the decision to wind it down was ultimately his own.
Ebtikar’s reasoning centers on a belief that the crypto market has fundamentally changed in ways that make the hedge fund model ill-suited for the space going forward. He stated that the hedge fund structure did not make sense for crypto on a permanent basis, citing a broader shift in how value is generated within the industry. The closure comes amid ongoing pressure on crypto hedge funds, which have reportedly faced increasingly difficult conditions following the 2022 market downturn.
Reflecting on his early years in the industry, Ebtikar described the environment as fast-moving and momentum-driven, where traders competed aggressively in rapidly shifting markets. After nearly a decade, he said those conditions no longer exist in the same form. In his view, the industry has matured to the point where the central question is no longer about chasing short-term trends but about identifying where long-term value lies.
Ebtikar acknowledged that critics who questioned the sustainability of funds like Split Capital in an evolving market were not entirely wrong. He said his own conviction gradually narrowed to a small number of founders and sectors he genuinely believed in. That narrowing focus ultimately pointed him toward Plasma, with which he worked closely throughout 2024 and 2025.
Plasma is focused on developing infrastructure for stablecoin settlement and broader global financial access. The company raised $24 million in February of last year from investors including Framework Ventures, Bitfinex, Peter Thiel, and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. The fundraise underscored significant institutional interest in the stablecoin infrastructure space.
In his new role as chief strategy officer at Plasma, Ebtikar will oversee partnerships, growth initiatives, and go-to-market strategy. He will also engage with investors and policymakers as the company prepares to roll out Plasma One and continues to expand its ecosystem. Ebtikar framed the transition as a reflection of his belief that crypto is entering a new phase defined more by the construction of global financial systems than by speculative activity.
He described the moment as the closing of crypto’s older era and expressed hope that his work at Plasma could contribute to what he called a new golden age for the space. The move signals a broader sentiment among some industry veterans that the next chapter of crypto will reward builders and infrastructure developers over short-term traders.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
