九月份，我们曾讨论过股权交易公司SecondMarket推出的美国首个专门针对比特币的投资工具——比特币投资信托（The Bitcoin Investment Trust，它抢在了温克莱沃斯兄弟前面，因为这两人目前仍为各种监管障碍所困）。最近有传言称，峰堡投资集团（Fortress Investment Group）正在筹备自己的比特币基金，规模可能远远大于SecondMarket的同类产品。

    目前，我们还没有掌握太多细节，但外界盛传，具体信息会在2013年最后一天在百老汇大街举行的比特币新年夜狂欢活动中公布（没错，这是一场真实的活动）。目前，我们只掌握了一些零散信息。

    2013年早些时候，为了成立一个知识产权融资集团，峰堡投资集团收购了Koru Ventures，后者主要为科技公司提供专利质押融资贷款。而在Koru的主要负责人中，有一位新成员，他就是专利风险管理服务公司RPX Corp.前首席技术官史蒂芬•沃特豪斯。昨天，他在商务社交网站LinkedIn的个人资料中透露，自己刚刚成为一家未透露名称的比特币基金合伙人。笔者给沃特豪斯发了一封电子邮件，希望掌握更多信息，同时还电话联系了峰堡投资集团。随后，他LinkedIn个人资料中有关比特币的内容均被删除（换成了“待定”两个字）。

    笔者个人的理解是，峰堡投资集团可能成立一家非上市外汇ETF基金（类似于比特币投资信托）；同时，峰堡投资集团也可能单独推出一种投资工具，为比特币相关初创公司提供资金支持。而且，这支基金可能与旧金山对冲基金Pantera Capital新近筹集的一只比特币相关基金存在某种关联。Pantera Capital的客户包括多名峰堡投资集团高管。

    Pantera创始人丹•莫尔黑德拒绝讨论其比特币业务，也不愿意谈他与峰堡投资集团的关系——包括他正在筹集的基金是否就是峰堡投资集团的基金。但美国证监会（SEC）的文件显示，他已经为该比特币投资工具募集了约1.5亿美元，而且Pantera最近还参加了加密货币支付网络Ripple Labs的新一轮融资。此外，现在拨打Pantera的总机会听到其中的语音留言称公司为“Pantera Bitcoin”。

    尽管我们多次要求峰堡投资集团对此发表评论，但并没有收到任何回复。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    In September we discussed how SecondMarket had launched the first U.S.-based investment vehicle dedicated exclusively to Bitcoin, called The Bitcoin Investment Trust (beating out the Winklevii, who remain stuck in regulatory limbo). Now comes word that Fortress Investment Group (FIG) is prepping its own Bitcoin fund, which likely will be much larger than the SecondMarket offering.

    Details remain scarce, although there are some rumors that info could be revealed tonight at the Bitcoin New Year's Eve Bash down on Broad Street (yes, this is an actual thing). So what we are left with are some breadcrumbs:

    Fortress earlier this year acquired Koru Ventures, a provider of patent-backed loans to tech companies, in order to launch an IP finance group. Among Koru's principals (and new Fortress employees) was Steven Waterhouse, the former chief technology officer of RPX Corp. (RPXC) whose LinkedIn profile yesterday said that he had just become a partner on an unnamed Bitcoin fund. After I sent Waterhouse an email requesting more info – and also placing a call with Fortress – the Bitcoin mention disappeared from his LinkedIn page (replaced only with "TBD").

    My understanding, however, is that the Fortress effort will be something like an unlisted currency ETF (similar to Bitcoin Investment Trust), with Fortress also perhaps raising a separate vehicle to back Bitcoin-related startups. And there likely is some relationship to a new Bitcoin-related fund raised by Pantera Capital, a San Francisco-based hedge fund whose clients are known to include several Fortress executives.

    Pantera founder Dan Morehead declined to discuss his Bitcoin efforts or relationship to Fortress – including if his effort and the Fortress fund were one in the same – but an SEC filing indicates that he already has raised around $150 million for Bitcoin vehicle, and Pantera recently participated in a VC round for crypto-currency payment network Ripple Labs. Moreover, calls to Pantera's main number are now met with a voicemail that only identifies the firm as "Pantera Bitcoin."

    Fortress did not return repeated requests for comment.