The latest consolidation play in digital asset management comes courtesy of FalconX, which has acquired a majority stake in Monarq Asset Management—a firm that has undergone more identity transformations than a witness protection candidate.
Previously operating as MNNC Group and before that as Ledger Prime (yes, that Ledger Prime with ties to FTX’s wealth management empire and Alameda Research), Monarq has emerged from its chrysalis of rebranding under CEO Shiliang Tang‘s leadership.
This acquisition represents FalconX’s calculated expansion beyond its prime brokerage roots into asset management territory, targeting institutional clients who demand more than basic custody and execution services.
FalconX pivots strategically from prime brokerage into asset management, courting institutions seeking sophisticated exposure beyond elementary custody solutions.
The timing appears prescient, given the maturation of digital asset markets and institutional appetite for sophisticated strategies that extend beyond simple buy-and-hold approaches.
Monarq’s current incarnation—registered in the Cayman Islands with a 16-person team—deploys quantitative, delta-neutral, and directional strategies across both centralized and decentralized venues. The firm has demonstrated resilience with a track record since 2017, successfully navigating multiple market cycles that have eliminated many competitors.
Tang, who previously traded volatility at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBA, leads a team populated with alumni from Tower Research and BlockTower, suggesting serious quantitative firepower rather than crypto-native improvisation. The acquisition allows Tang to pursue his stated goal of growing the team of portfolio managers and technologists under FalconX’s expanded platform.
For FalconX, this represents the second notable acquisition following January’s purchase of Arbelos Markets, indicating a deliberate consolidation strategy in an increasingly competitive landscape.
The move enables FalconX to court endowments, pensions, and family offices—institutional players who require actively managed exposure rather than passive allocation products. This shift reflects the ecosystem’s transition away from hype-driven growth toward sustainable expansion that prioritizes strategic development over speculative fervor.
The strategic logic appears sound: as digital assets mature beyond speculative fervor, institutional investors increasingly demand sophisticated risk management and alpha generation capabilities.
Monarq’s multi-strategy approach, combined with its team’s traditional finance pedigree, positions FalconX to capture this evolving demand.
Whether this marriage of prime brokerage infrastructure and quantitative asset management will generate sustainable alpha remains an empirical question.
However, FalconX’s bet on Monarq signals confidence that institutional digital asset management will reward complexity over simplicity—a proposition that traditional finance veterans understand intimately, even if the underlying assets trade 24/7 and occasionally experience triple-digit volatility swings that would make equity traders reach for sedatives.
