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Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly is the founder and CEO of BKCM LLC, an investment firm specialising in digital assets, and a long-standing face of cryptocurrency on CNBC, where he appears regularly on Fast Money. In 2014 he wrote one of the first books on Bitcoin, "The Bitcoin Big Bang".

Riccardo CuratoloBy Riccardo Curatolo 2 min read How we work
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Who he is

Brian Kelly is an American investor and financial commentator with more than thirty years of experience in global macro strategies. After graduating from the University of Vermont and earning an MBA at Babson, he co-founded the institutional brokerage firm MKM Partners and later Shelter Harbor Capital, a global macro hedge fund. His crypto turning point came with the "conversion" to Bitcoin recounted in the book The Bitcoin Big Bang (2014), one of the first popular texts on the subject: in 2013 he founded BKCM LLC, an investment firm dedicated to digital currencies, where he manages the BKCM Digital Asset Fund. He is known to the wider public as CNBC's cryptocurrency specialist, a regular presence on Fast Money. He has served on advisory boards including tZERO, the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance and the CME committee on Bitcoin futures.

Current role

  • Founder and CEO of BKCM LLC and manager of the BKCM Digital Asset Fund: public sources (CNBC, Crunchbase) still list him in this role (Verified: September 2026).
  • CNBC contributor: his author page on CNBC is active; the most recent video appearances for which we have direct evidence date to 2024 (commentary on the fourth halving, April 2024).

Career path

1. 1990s-2000s — a career in institutional finance: co-founds MKM Partners (brokerage for institutional managers) and later Shelter Harbor Capital (global macro). 2. 2013-2014 — founds BKCM LLC and publishes The Bitcoin Big Bang; in 2015 Inside Bitcoins names him among the "30 most influential people in Bitcoin". 3. 2018 — launches the REX BKCM ETF (BKC), one of the first actively managed blockchain-themed ETFs; the fund no longer appears among the products on the market.

Recent developments and controversies

There are no established legal or regulatory controversies involving him. His recent public profile remains that of the manager-commentator: television appearances on market cycles, halvings and US regulation. No change of company or role has been publicly announced (Verified: September 2026).

FAQ

Who is Brian Kelly? An American investor, founder and CEO of BKCM LLC, an asset management firm specialising in digital assets, and a cryptocurrency commentator for CNBC, in particular on Fast Money.

What has Brian Kelly written? "The Bitcoin Big Bang – How Alternative Currencies Are About to Change the World" (2014), one of the first popular books on Bitcoin, born out of his conversion to investing in digital currencies.

See also

Verified sources

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