Sygnum ETH Alpha Fund targets 8% to 10% returns in ether

Sygnum has launched the ETH Alpha Fund SP, a market-neutral vehicle for professional investors that targets annual returns of 8% to 10% net of fees, measured in ETH rather than dollars, according to Crypto Briefing. The Swiss crypto bank opened the fund on November 2 to qualified investors in approved markets, including Switzerland, crypto.news reported.

Key facts

• The fund targets 8% to 10% annual returns after fees, with gains and losses recorded in ETH.
• Sygnum combines native ETH staking with options premiums, cross-venue arbitrage and derivatives funding and carry strategies, per Crypto Briefing.
• The minimum ticket is $100,000 or its ETH equivalent.
• crypto.news reported the fund opened November 2 for qualified investors in approved markets including Switzerland, and that subscriptions need two business days’ notice while redemptions require 15 calendar days.
• An investor-level redemption gate of up to 10% applies, according to crypto.news.

Stacking ETH instead of dollars

The unit of account is the central design choice. Instead of asking whether a portfolio rose in dollar terms, investors track whether they hold more ether than before. Markus Hämmerli, Sygnum’s head of asset management and the fund’s lead, said institutions holding ETH for the long term increasingly judge their year by whether they end it owning more of the asset.

Sygnum estimates conventional ETH staking currently yields roughly 2% to 3% a year, crypto.news reported, so the fund layers trading strategies on top of staking income. Those include selling options for premiums, which collects income upfront but accepts payout risk if prices move sharply, and arbitrage that captures small price gaps between venues. Funding and carry trades lean on perpetual futures, where a hedged fund can position itself to collect funding payments from leveraged traders. Research materials also list statistical and volatility arbitrage, both model-driven approaches, according to Crypto Briefing.

Custody and the Bitcoin precedent

The fund is structured as a Cayman Islands segregated portfolio company with Sygnum Bank as custodian. Trading collateral is held through Sygnum Protect, the bank’s off-exchange custody service, so assets stay with the bank while managers execute on supported venues; Sygnum added Deribit to the service in March 2025 and was named a custody partner for Bitget’s institutional off-exchange arrangements, crypto.news reported. The arrangement reduces collateral held directly on exchanges but does not remove trading or counterparty risk.

Sygnum ran a similar structure for Bitcoin. Its BTC Alpha Fund, launched in October 2025 with Starboard Digital, raised over 750 BTC, around $65 million, by late January 2026 and posted an 8.9% annualized return in its first full quarter, per Crypto Briefing, which also reported a track record since January 2022 of 18.34% annualized return, 22.57% cumulative return, 6.4% annualized volatility and a Sharpe ratio of 2.21.

Why it matters

For long-term ether holders, a fund that pays in ETH offers a way to grow coin count without selling exposure, which staking alone does not do at scale. Market-neutral does not mean risk-free: options selling can produce steady income for months and then a sharp loss in a price spike, and funding strategies pay best when leverage is high and can shrink when trader appetite cools. Investors still carry full ether price exposure, so a year that adds 10% more coins can look painful in dollar terms if ether falls hard. Crypto.news noted the stated return is an investment objective, not a guaranteed payout.

What to watch

Early performance disclosures for the ETH fund will show whether the strategies clear the 8% to 10% target in ETH. The prior BTC Alpha Fund’s quarterly figures give a benchmark for comparison.

This is not financial advice. Crypto markets are volatile and uncertain, and targeted returns are objectives, not guarantees.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment, financial or trading advice. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. Always do your own research.

Sources: Crypto Briefing, crypto.news