Martijn van Veen (M11 Funds): AIFMD makes crypto funds accessible to institutional investors
This text was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.
By Esther Waal
The crypto market is rapidly becoming more professional. Following Bitcoin ETFs in 2024, 2025 will bring further regulation and institutional entry. MiCA will create a harmonised supervisory framework, while tokenisation of real-world assets will bring digital and traditional markets closer together. At the same time, questions remain about applications, strategy and positioning within multi-asset portfolios. Reason enough for Financial Investigator to ask Martijn van Veen, Managing Director & Partner at M11 Funds, a number of questions.
What steps are crucial to further strengthen the bridge between traditional financial institutions and crypto service providers?
‘In general terms, it is about making this asset class investable by ensuring a clear and comprehensive regulatory framework. Although MiCA is a good first step in the right direction – particularly because supporting service providers such as crypto custodians and exchanges will now have to comply with clear regulations – this does not automatically mean that traditional financial institutions will actually be able to invest in crypto.
It is at least as important that crypto is explicitly recognised as an asset class and positioned correctly within a regulatory framework. In the United States, major steps have been taken in this area with the Genius Act and, soon, the Clarity Act, which is expected to be passed in December 2025. Among other things, this will make altcoins investable for a broader group of traditional financial institutions and institutional investors. At M11 Funds, we are anticipating this with the M11 Liquid Token Fund, which invests specifically in altcoins.’
How do you see the role of regulated parties changing under MiCA, and what does that mean for institutional investor confidence?
‘MiCA is not the only important step for institutional investors; the AIFMD also plays a crucial role in this regard. Many institutional investors are only allowed to invest in regulated funds or structures that are AIFMD-compliant. With this in mind, and in order to bridge the gap between institutional investors and crypto as an asset class, we established M11 Funds at the time. This allows us to offer AIFMD-compliant crypto funds, making the asset class truly investable for this target group. This naturally contributes to confidence and makes the asset class investable.’