What each database offers

NilssonHedge

NilssonHedge was established in 2018 and positions itself as a database “operated by investors, for investors.” It covers over 2,000 active funds across liquid alternative strategies, with a particular strength in CTA/managed futures. The database also includes equity long/short, market-neutral, event-driven, fixed income, risk premia, and approximately 300+ crypto trading strategies. The platform includes a “graveyard” of nearly 6,000 defunct strategies, which is valuable for survivorship bias analysis.

NilssonHedge’s approach is distinctive: it aggregates data from over 15,000 different input sources and creates composite track records for each strategy, abstracting away from individual share classes and currencies. The database is crowdsourced and described as “self-correcting.” It publishes daily and monthly indices, correlation trackers, factor exposure reports, and manager dispersion tools. The crypto-specific index covers 400+ managers and includes both daily and monthly return data.

Most importantly, the core data is free. Users can register for access to the databases, download return data, and use the analytical tools without paying. This makes NilssonHedge one of the most accessible hedge fund data sources available anywhere.

Crypto Fund Research

CFR is a specialist database focused exclusively on crypto investment funds. It tracks 800+ crypto funds including hedge funds and venture capital funds. The Performance Database covers 300+ funds with standardized risk and return metrics (60+ calculations including Sharpe ratios, Sortino ratios, drawdowns, beta, and correlation). The Crypto Fund List covers 800+ funds with profiles, strategy descriptions, AUM, fee data, service providers, geographic data, and contact information. CFR publishes the CFR Crypto Fund Index (composite and strategy sub-indices since January 2017), quarterly industry reports, and performance rankings. Both products are paid subscriptions.

Head-to-head comparison

The free vs. paid trade-off

NilssonHedge being free is not a small thing. It means that any researcher, academic, student, or early-stage allocator can access hedge fund return data without a budget. For someone exploring the crypto hedge fund space for the first time, NilssonHedge provides a genuinely useful entry point: you can see what crypto fund returns look like, understand the dispersion between managers, and get a sense for how different strategies behave. That is a lot of value for zero dollars.

The trade-off is depth and curation. A free, crowdsourced database will inevitably have less rigorous data quality controls than a paid, curated product. NilssonHedge acknowledges this by describing the data as “self-correcting” and noting that composites are created from aggregated sources. For research purposes, this is usually fine. For making a $10 million allocation decision, most institutional allocators want data that has been individually verified with the fund manager.

CFR’s paid model allows for direct relationships with fund managers, verified data submissions, and the kind of institutional-grade quality controls that allocators expect. The fee data, service provider data, contact data, and detailed fund profiles in the Crypto Fund List go well beyond what any free database provides. You get what you pay for, and what you pay for is institutional confidence in the data.

Data quality considerations

For institutional allocators, data quality is not optional. Here are the relevant considerations when comparing crowdsourced versus curated data.

Source verification. NilssonHedge aggregates from 15,000+ input sources and creates composites. This means the data passes through an algorithmic aggregation process. CFR collects data directly from fund managers and verifies it against audited statements where available. For fund-level due diligence, direct verification matters.

Composite methodology. NilssonHedge abstracts away share classes, currencies, and fund structures to create “the longest possible track record.” This is useful for research but can mask important differences between share classes (fee structures, liquidity terms, minimums) that matter for actual investment decisions.

Coverage of non-reporting funds. Many crypto funds do not actively report to any database. CFR proactively tracks these funds through other channels (regulatory filings, public disclosures, conference attendance) and includes profile data even when performance data is not available. NilssonHedge’s crowdsourced model captures funds that voluntarily contribute data or whose data appears in public sources.

Update frequency. NilssonHedge updates weekly and provides daily index data. CFR updates monthly for performance data and quarterly for industry reports. For time-sensitive research, NilssonHedge’s faster update cycle is an advantage.

Who should use which

Use NilssonHedge if: You are on a budget and need free access to hedge fund return data. You are conducting academic research or preliminary market exploration. You need daily return data for granular risk analysis. You want survivorship-bias-adjusted analysis using the graveyard database. You are comparing crypto fund performance against CTA or other liquid alternative strategies on the same platform.

Use CFR if: You are making actual allocation decisions and need institutional-quality data. You need fund profiles, contact data, and directory information for sourcing and outreach. You need standardized risk metrics (60+ per fund) for manager comparison. You need crypto VC coverage alongside hedge fund coverage. You want dedicated crypto industry reports and benchmarks. Your compliance or governance framework requires data from a verified, institutional-grade source.

Use both if: Start with NilssonHedge for broad market research, factor analysis, and preliminary screening (it is free, so the cost of inclusion is zero). Then use CFR for the shortlisted funds where you need institutional-grade profiles, verified performance data, and contact information for due diligence. NilssonHedge is your research tool. CFR is your allocation tool.

For the full landscape of crypto fund databases, see our database comparison article.

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