Journalism, finance, and markets reporting by Nishant Kumar
Nishant Kumar is a PhD candidate in computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he conducts advanced research in applied cryptography, with a concentration on secure multiparty computation (MPC). Previously, he was a researcher at Microsoft Research India, contributing to the EzPC project—an open-source framework that integrates privacy-preserving machine learning with TensorFlow. Kumar’s work in efficient zero-knowledge proofs and MPC protocols supports confidentiality and compliance within blockchain and DeFi ecosystems. He has published multiple peer-reviewed papers in top-tier cryptographic journals and presented at conferences including Eurocrypt and NDSS. His academic research has been cited over 400 times and directly influences developments in secure computation frameworks used in blockchain privacy tools.
Kumar’s recent collaboration with industry researchers resulted in an MPC-based toolchain tested on private blockchain deployments. With active mentorship roles and open-source contributions, Kumar is part of the next generation of cryptographers building real-world privacy tech for decentralized finance and secure smart contracts.
Khalid Malik hedge fund secures new backing after $1.5 billion loss, Nishant Kumar reveals
Nishant Kumar reports that Khalid Malik’s stocks-focused hedge fund, which previously lost a $1.5 billion backing from Millennium over two years ago, has reset its business operations. The ...
Nishant Kumar: LMR expands external allocation group as SMA race accelerates
Nishant Kumar reports that LMR is building a group to allocate capital to traders outside of its own employee base. The move comes as multi-strategy hedge funds increasingly compete to deploy ...
Hedge fund giants now rent expensive talent instead of only hiring, Nishant Kumar notes
Nishant Kumar observes a new trend in the hedge fund sector, where major firms are moving from simply hiring expensive talent to also renting it. This shift reflects the escalating competition ...
Nishant Kumar: Abu Dhabi ADIC invests $1 billion in Deem macro hedge fund
Nishant Kumar reports that Abu Dhabi’s ADIC has provided about $1 billion in new capital to the macro hedge fund Deem. The fund now has a $15 billion pool to invest in hedge funds. This follows ...
Hedge funds deliver strongest H1 returns in five years, Nishant Kumar notes
Nishant Kumar reports that hedge funds have posted their strongest first-half performance in five years, rebounding after a challenging March period that impacted some of the world’s largest ...
Nishant Kumar: BlueCrest calls UK less attractive after $265 million court loss
Nishant Kumar reports that BlueCrest, led by Michael Platt, has described the UK as no longer a serious contender for doing business after the firm lost a $265 million UK Supreme Court ruling. The ...
Millennium to back new quantitative hedge fund firm, Nishant Kumar reveals
Nishant Kumar reports that Millennium will back a new quantitative hedge fund firm led by Paul Dou, who previously worked as a researcher at Citadel. The new firm could manage more than $1 ...
Nishant Kumar: New wave of hedge funds reject additional cash influx
Nishant Kumar reports that a new wave of hedge funds is choosing to refuse further cash investments, even as investors are looking to commit more funds. DE Shaw's main hedge funds have been closed ...
Lenders seek answers as caravan empire funds disappear, Nishant Kumar notes
Nishant Kumar reports that lenders invested heavily in a British caravan business, making its founder very wealthy. Now, those lenders are questioning where the money has ...
Nishant Kumar: ExodusPoint-backed hedge fund launches double-leveraged macro vehicle
Nishant Kumar reports that an ExodusPoint-backed hedge fund has launched a double-leveraged version of its macro strategy. The fund has raised $1 billion and is preparing to close to new cash ...
Schonfeld Strategic Advisors plans expansion into Switzerland, Nishant Kumar notes
Nishant Kumar reports that Schonfeld Strategic Advisors is planning to open an office in Switzerland. The move aligns the hedge fund with peers establishing new operations in the European finance ...
Nishant Kumar: Balyasny hires Goldman partner for new top role as AUM reaches $36 billion
Nishant Kumar reports that Balyasny has hired Goldman partner Lederhandler for a new top role at the firm. Balyasny's assets under management now stand at $36 ...
Brevan Howard turns to stock market gains to counter trading losses, Nishant Kumar notes
Nishant Kumar reports that a strong stock market performance has assisted Brevan Howard, a macro trading specialist, in mitigating losses experienced in its traditional rates and foreign exchange ...
Nishant Kumar: Schonfeld expands credit business with new strategies and hires
Nishant Kumar reports that Schonfeld is expanding its credit business by introducing convertible arbitrage and structured credit strategies to its credit division. The firm is also making a series ...
Debt currently trades at 50 cents on dollar but could rally to par, Nishant Kumar notes
Nishant Kumar comments on debt trading at 50 cents on the dollar, suggesting that continued positive momentum could see it recover to par soon. He highlights that another week of favorable ...
Nishant Kumar: Gazump gains traction among hedge funds
Nishant Kumar, industry influencer, highlights that 'gazump' is becoming a widely recognized term among hedge fund professionals. Originally a British real estate expression, gazump refers to a ...
Jain Global will handle Millennium funds exclusively, Zerohedge reveals
Zerohedge, industry influencer, reports that Jain Global will return investor cash and take on exclusive management of Millennium funds. This development indicates a significant change in fund ...
Nishant Kumar: Hedge fund talent war intensifies with gazumping trend
A new trend called gazumping has emerged in the hedge fund recruitment landscape, according to Nishant Kumar. The practice involves firms hiring traders and waiting for them to complete their ...
Dubai increases hedge fund flexibility to manage Iran war impacts, Nishant Kumar notes
Dubai is taking swift action to provide hedge funds with greater flexibility in navigating disruptions linked to the Iran war. Nishant Kumar highlights that Dubai’s open-for-business strategy, ...
Nishant Kumar: Returns of 65 major hedge funds visualized in new chart
Nishant Kumar shares a visualization displaying the returns of 65 major and well-known hedge funds. The chart, created by Claude, provides a visual summary of performance among these prominent ...
Rokos hedge fund posted 2.1 percent monthly return and 4.7 percent yearly advance, Nishant Kumar reports
Nishant Kumar shared performance figures for Chris Rokos’s hedge fund. The fund generated a 2.1 percent return last month, bringing its gain for the year so far to 4.7 percent. The tweet also ...
