RockawayX, a global digital asset investment platform with approximately $2 billion in assets under management, today announced the acquisition of Relayer Capital, a digital asset hedge fund founded by Austin Barack. Following the transaction, Relayer will become the RockawayX Liquid Opportunities Fund, with Barack joining RockawayX as CIO of the Fund and continuing to lead its investment strategy.
The Fund, which is open to new external investors, is a directional long/short hedge fund strategy focused on identifying undervalued liquid tokens and crypto-related equities. The acquisition adds a liquid fundamental strategy to RockawayX’s existing investment platform and expands the firm’s presence in the US, where Barack is based in the New York area.
“We have always been disciplined about adding new strategies to RockawayX. We only expand when we have the right people and investment approach, and conviction we can outperform,” said Viktor Fischer, CEO of RockawayX. “This is the right moment for the strategy. There are now crypto businesses with real revenues and strong fundamentals that we can underwrite, yet the market is still inefficient and misprices them. That is a great setup for active investors. We’ve known and invested alongside Austin for six years, and he has consistently shown the judgment to find those opportunities early.”
Fundamental approach to increasingly mature onchain markets
Relayer’s liquid strategy has delivered strong performance in 2026, generating an estimated net return of approximately 70% year to date, outperforming an equal-weighted basket of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana by 86% (as of Aug 21, 2026). Performance has been driven by early, high-conviction investments across two of the market’s major themes: AI and the growth of 24/7 onchain real world asset (RWA) trading. Positions in Venice AI, Hyperliquid, Grass Network, Pump.fun, and Zcash have been significant performance contributors.
The strategy uses long and short positions, including pair trades, to express fundamental views on crypto tokens while reducing broader market exposure when appropriate.
Crypto Markets Regaining Momentum
The launch comes as investor interest in digital assets is increasing again. Bitcoin posted its strongest weekly gain in two and a half years, rising approximately 20% in the week to August 21st, as digital assets benefited from renewed demand for risk assets and a more constructive U.S. regulatory backdrop, including advancement of proactive SEC and CFTC digital asset focused rule-making, that would establish market structure for digital assets.
Austin Barack commented, “I believe we have seen clear signs that crypto markets have bottomed. The fund is focused on growth, value, and category leaders with durable market share. The market is ripe for this strategy as these assets remain meaningfully undervalued. The current setup presents opportunities similar to the emergence from prior bear markets in 2020 and 2023 when we saw major positive price re-ratings.”
Joining RockawayX gives the Relayer strategy access to a broader institutional platform while preserving continuity of its investment process. RockawayX also operates dedicated digital asset infrastructure and onchain liquidity divisions, giving its investment teams an advantage in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities across onchain markets.
The acquisition broadens RockawayX’s offering to investors and crypto companies. Across its venture, market-neutral and now directional liquid strategies, the firm provides investors with different risk-return profiles within digital assets. For crypto founders, RockawayX can provide capital across a company’s lifecycle, from early-stage venture investment through liquidity provisioning and into public markets following token launch.