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Ari Paul

Ari Paul co-founded BlockTower Capital in 2017, one of the first institutional funds dedicated to cryptocurrencies. After BlockTower's merger with Arca, completed in 2025, he moved to an advisory role and is a venture partner at Strobe Ventures, the spin-out of the venture arm.

Riccardo CuratoloBy Riccardo Curatolo Updated 4 Sep 2026 2 min read How we work
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Who he is

Ari Paul is one of the investors who brought the discipline of traditional finance to the crypto market. A derivatives trader at Susquehanna International Group from 2006 to 2010, then portfolio manager of the University of Chicago's endowment (around 8 billion dollars), in 2017 he co-founded, with Matthew Goetz, BlockTower Capital, a digital asset investment firm with strategies ranging from trading to venture, of which he was Chief Investment Officer. A CFA charterholder, with a degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago, he is also known as a widely followed market commentator on X (@AriDavidPaul).

Current role

Paul no longer leads BlockTower operationally. In November 2024 BlockTower and the manager Arca announced an all-equity merger, completed in 2025: the combined firm is led by Rayne Steinberg (Arca), with Jeff Dorman as CIO, while Paul moved to an advisory role (Verified: September 2026). In March 2025 BlockTower's venture arm was spun out as Strobe Ventures, with a 100 million dollar Fund II planned: Paul and Goetz appear there as venture partners (Verified: September 2026). Some public profiles (LinkedIn, Crunchbase) still carry the description "CIO of BlockTower": that is the pre-merger snapshot.

Career path

  • 2006-2010 — Derivatives trader at Susquehanna International Group.
  • 2016-2017 — Portfolio manager of the University of Chicago's endowment.
  • 2017-2024 — Co-founder and CIO of BlockTower Capital, among the first "institutional grade" crypto funds.
  • 2024-2025 — BlockTower-Arca merger and spin-out of the venture arm into Strobe Ventures.

Recent developments and controversies

  • November 2024 — BlockTower and Arca sign the letter of intent for the merger, driven by the ongoing consolidation in crypto asset management; the transaction is completed in 2025 with Paul in an advisory role.
  • March 2025 — The venture spin-out Strobe Ventures debuts with the goal of staying "small, focused and contrarian" and a 100 million dollar Fund II being raised.
  • No established legal or regulatory controversy against him appears publicly (Verified: September 2026).

FAQ

Is Ari Paul still the CIO of BlockTower Capital? No. After the merger with Arca, completed in 2025, investment leadership of the combined firm passed to Jeff Dorman; Paul took on an advisory role and remains a venture partner at Strobe Ventures, the spin-out of BlockTower's venture arm.

What was BlockTower Capital? A digital asset investment firm founded in 2017 by Ari Paul and Matthew Goetz, among the first to offer institutional strategies (trading, credit, venture) on cryptocurrencies, later folded into Arca.

See also

Verified sources

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