From Family Office to Crypto: How One Investor Built a 170% Return Fund in a Year

When Huang Yu walked away from his role leading China investments at Blue Pool Capital—the prestigious family office co-founded by Cai Chongxin and other prominent figures—many questioned the move. At 36, making such a pivot to the still-nascent crypto sector seemed counterintuitive. Yet his bet on NextGen Digital Venture (NDV), launched in April 2023, has already vindicated that decision.

The numbers tell the story: a $100 million fund raised from global institutional investors and family offices has delivered a staggering +170% return in just over a year—crushing Bitcoin’s 50% gains and Ethereum’s 100% surge. But behind these returns lies a more fundamental insight about how global capital is shifting in an uncertain world.

Why Crypto, and Why Now?

Huang Yu’s journey to crypto investing wasn’t impulsive. His background studying history at Peking University instilled in him a conviction that individual success traces larger macro currents. “What we do,” he explains, “is merely align with the tide of the times.”

Today, that tide points toward crypto. After decades watching manufacturing booms, real estate bubbles, and e-commerce revolutions reshape Asian economies, Huang sees cryptocurrency as the next structural shift—but this time on a global scale.

The macro backdrop is compelling: persistent geopolitical instability, the U.S. dollar facing long-term pressure from excessive liquidity, and central banks worldwide reconsidering dollar dependence. Traditional investors globally—sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments—are increasingly viewing Bitcoin not as a speculative bet but as a hedge against currency debasement.

“Bitcoin was invented precisely as a response to excessive money printing in 2008,” Huang points out. “Now we’re seeing that same dynamic play out again, only worse.” This philosophical anchor underpins his entire investment thesis.

The Data-Driven Edge

What separates NDV from retail crypto traders is methodical rigor. The fund doesn’t chase hype; it follows whale movements and institutional signals.

On June 15 of last year, Huang’s team detected that the world’s top 10 Bitcoin addresses accumulated 7,500 BTC in a single day—representing roughly $500 million in today’s terms. Thirteen days later, BlackRock filed for a Bitcoin spot ETF approval. Coincidence? Hardly. “Although crypto is anonymous,” Huang notes, “the movements of large holders are entirely trackable through blockchain tools combined with traditional financial analysis.”

This data-driven approach paid immediate dividends. When the U.S. SEC approved Bitcoin spot ETFs in early 2024, the price surged from $40,000 to $70,000. The ten approved ETFs have attracted over $15 billion in net inflows, collectively managing $22 trillion in assets globally.

“Think about that mathematics,” Huang emphasizes. “These ETFs manage $22 trillion, but their allocation to crypto represents less than one-thousandth of that capital. If allocations merely doubled to 1%—which is hardly aggressive—we’re looking at astronomical inflows.” Yet despite these catalysts, most mainstream investors remain on the sidelines.

The Cai Chongxin Experience: Why Traditional Finance Matters

His tenure with the Cai Chongxin-backed Blue Pool Capital proved invaluable. Unlike pure crypto natives approaching the space for the first time, Huang understood institutional LP psychology, macro asset allocation principles, and the long-term perspective that defines professional wealth management.

“My family office experience taught me what LPs actually need,” he reflects. “And my VC background gave me a tech-forward mindset. Few in crypto combine both toolkits.” This hybrid expertise shaped NDV’s entire operational philosophy: compliance first, then returns.

The Compliance Revolution

For ultra-high-net-worth individuals, crypto remains synonymous with risk. NDV addressed this head-on by building a regulatory-friendly structure that separates asset holders from actual token custody.

The fund utilizes a Hong Kong “Type 9” asset management structure, with DBS serving as the custodian bank. Daily transaction records flow to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for regulatory filing. Professional third-party administrators handle net asset value calculations—a setup that allows investors to capture crypto returns without directly holding volatile digital assets.

“This is the most investor-friendly structure available,” Huang argues. “Investors gain exposure to cryptocurrency markets while operating within mature custodial guardrails.” Such architectural choices explain why institutional capital—historically reluctant to touch crypto—began flowing into NDV’s fund.

The Volatility Question

No discussion of crypto performance omits drawdowns. In 13 months, NDV experienced two significant corrections: an 8% drop and a 15% decline. Yet the fund’s overall return remained around 170%—a risk-reward ratio that attracts sophisticated capital.

Huang emphasizes that such volatility is structural, not pathological. Bitcoin exhibits clear cyclicality: peaks followed by 80-85% corrections within 1-2 years. The 2013 peak at $1,163 fell to $152 by 2015. The 2017 high of $19,666 crashed to $3,100 by late 2018. The 2021 peak of $69,000 preceded the bearish 2022. Understanding this pattern separates patient capital from panic sellers.

“When most people abandoned crypto in 2022, that’s precisely when I started NDV,” Huang reflects. Timing the bottom of a volatile cycle—combined with macro conditions favoring alternative assets—proved decisive.

Aligning Incentives

Trust represents the industry’s core vulnerability. Huang tackled this through radical transparency: NDV partners invested $6 million personally on day one, binding their interests to all LPs. More provocatively, the fund charges no management fees beyond operational costs—partners earn only when the fund exits profitably.

“We deliberately avoided giving ourselves risk-free returns during the startup phase,” Huang explains. “If we’re asking LPs to trust us with capital and endure volatility, we must be equally exposed to that risk.”

This structure mirrors the best of institutional asset management: alignment through skin-in-the-game and performance-based compensation.

The Broader Thesis: From Hedge to Asset Class

Huang’s pitch to wealthy families remains consistent: allocate 1-5% of your portfolio to Bitcoin as a diversification tool against global uncertainty. This isn’t gambling; it’s insurance against currency debasement and geopolitical fragmentation.

“In the short term, Bitcoin is risky,” he acknowledges. “But over decades, it functions as a hedge against dollar dominance.” The evidence? El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as reserve currency. Some U.S. presidential candidates from both parties now support crypto. Major central banks are researching digital asset adoption.

“We’re witnessing the early stages of what I call a ‘consensus network’ forming around Bitcoin,” Huang suggests. “As more countries decouple from dollar reliance, crypto becomes not just an asset but a geopolitical infrastructure.”

The AI-Crypto Convergence

When asked whether crypto represents the only high-risk, high-return asset class going forward, Huang pauses. “AI certainly qualifies,” he admits. “But direct investment opportunities in AI through public and private markets remain limited.”

More intriguingly, he foresees an eventual fusion: “AI is advanced productivity, but if any single nation or entity controls it, the technology becomes dangerous. Crypto is a production relationship no one can monopolize. Eventually, AI and crypto will combine to create something neither can achieve alone—a decentralized intelligence layer.”

For now, NDV remains positioned at this intersection: capturing crypto’s explosive growth trajectory while maintaining the institutional credibility that separates professional fund management from speculative froth.

The +170% return over 13 months, measured against Bitcoin’s more modest gains, suggests Huang’s judgment has been sound. But he frames it differently: “The real hero isn’t NDV’s performance—it’s the macro shift that created the opportunity. We simply recognized the wave and positioned accordingly.”

For investors watching from the sidelines, that wave shows no signs of receding.