Name: What It’s Like Running A Billion-Dollar Market-Neutral Fund In Crypto
Uploaded: 2026-08-24T14:47:33+00:00
Duration: 2098 s

Speakers

Evgeny Gokhberg — Founder & CIO, Re7 Capital

Avi Felman — Principal, GoldenTree Asset Management

Summary

Evgeny Gokhberg, founder and CIO of Re7 Capital, explains how his TradFi emerging markets and risk-management background led him to run one of the last large market-neutral funds in crypto. He argues DeFi yield is really payment for bank-like liquidity and lending roles, with current opportunities in tokenized AI stocks such as Nvidia. He also discusses why he avoided Anchor and LUNA, why MicroStrategy is not like Luna, and why the real AI risk to DeFi is legacy opsec vulnerabilities rather than smart-contract hacks.

Evgeny Gokhberg ran EM long/short strategies at TradFi institutions, including Egyptian stocks after the Arab Spring and shorting Australian iron ore as a China property proxy.
He launched Re7 Capital five years ago as a market-neutral DeFi yield fund.
DeFi yield is framed as compensation for outsourced bank roles: lending, market making, and liquidity provision.
Current yield focus includes tokenized Nvidia and AI equities, exploiting elevated trading and leverage demand.
Re7's risk framework red-flagged Anchor and LUNA; MicroStrategy's Bitcoin-backed leverage is viewed as different and not currently risky.
AI risk to DeFi is mainly AI discovering legacy opsec vulnerabilities rather than breaking smart contracts.

Ideas

Evgeny Gokhberg Founder & CIO, Re7 Capital 17:23

DeFi yield pays for bank-like roles

DeFi yield is not mainly compensation for crypto risk; it is payment for performing bank-like roles such as market making, liquidity provision, and lending that traditional banks would normally capture. Because DeFi separates the platform from the capital provider, professional liquidity providers can earn yield from onchain economic activity, and Re7 can generate roughly 11-12% consistently with a risk framework built around smart contract risk.

Evgeny Gokhberg Founder & CIO, Re7 Capital 18:56

RWA tokenized credit lending attractive

Lending stablecoins against tokenized real-world credit and assets is attractive because it brings DeFi yield back to something resembling TradFi credit and expands yield sources beyond native crypto collateral.

Evgeny Gokhberg Founder & CIO, Re7 Capital 19:36

Tokenized Nvidia yield is attractive

The current AI stock bull market is creating elevated demand for trading and leverage in tokenized equities. Re7 takes the same market-neutral yield approach it previously used with meme coins and applies it to tokenized Nvidia and similar AI assets, earning spreads as a liquidity provider and lender rather than taking directional stock risk.

Evgeny Gokhberg Founder & CIO, Re7 Capital 27:18

Anchor/LUNA failed risk framework

Anchor and LUNA never passed Re7's risk framework and were red-flagged, so the firm avoided exposure. The structure was debt backed by equity that was worth nothing because the underlying activity was worthless.

Evgeny Gokhberg Founder & CIO, Re7 Capital 27:27

Saylor's bitcoin-backed leverage not risky

Michael Saylor's strategy is not analogous to Luna; it is more like a Lombard loan collateralized by Bitcoin. At current leverage levels it does not feel risky, though a 90% Bitcoin drawdown could force selling and exacerbate downside.

Evgeny Gokhberg Founder & CIO, Re7 Capital 29:14

Crypto economy likely to accelerate

He expects the crypto economy to accelerate and says Re7 is more bullish than bearish on the market, which is why they prefer to stay focused on their DeFi risk management edge rather than chase traditional equity strategies.

What It’s Like Running A Billion-Dollar Market-Neutral Fund In Crypto

Summary

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