21Shares is to list Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) tracking two of the most popular crypto assets – ether and bitcoin cash – on the regulated market of Deutsche Boerse XETRA on 9 March, 2021 subject to approval by the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Following the first listing in July and September 2020 of the 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (21XB) and Short Bitcoin ETP (21XS) on XETRA, the Swiss ETP issuer adds two more ETPs with assets already exceeding USD100 million.
A Central Clearing counterparty (CCP) adds essential benefits like standardisation, risk reduction and operational efficiency, which is further accelerating the institutionalisation of crypto ETPs. 21Shares believes this innovation delivers enhanced liquidity and reduces trading costs as central clearing expands the pool of eligible counterparties to trade with beyond having to clear bilaterally.
“While other issuers continue to follow our steps in listing a Bitcoin ETP on a stock exchange, we had time to build the infrastructure and actively conduct regulatory lobbying for other innovative crypto assets and issuances.” Hany Rashwan, CEO 21Shares AG commented. “This is why we were the first to list an ether and bitcoin cash ETP on the Swiss stock exchange and we are now leveraging our expertise to provide investors in the DACH region and beyond with the same institutional reach, safety and cost effective ways to gain exposure to crypto assets. After the immensely successful launch of the first Polkadot ETP just a month ago, we are working on several more launches in the second and third quarter. In this way, we aim to lead the adoption of crypto assets into conventional asset allocations.”
The 21Shares Ethereum ETP (AETH SW – CH0454664027) and the 21Shares Bitcoin Cash ETP (ABCH SW – CH0475552201), are fully collateralised using Coinbase as independent regulated institutional grade custodian, debuted on the Swiss stock market in mid 2019 and have a performance of 116.3 per cent and 53.0 per cent with annual management fees of 1.49 per cent and 2.50 per cent respectively.
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Europe in March 2020, Bitcoin has seen a sharp increase in price from around USD5,000 to USD49,000 in March 2021. The asset appreciation was accompanied by a surge in interest from both the general public and for the first time larger corporations. Companies including the likes of Paypal, Square, Microstrategy and, as of late, the global electric car manufacturer Tesla have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets. While there is already an abundance of Bitcoin financial products on the market, there is a significant lack of institutional-grade products for other large-volume crypto assets.
21Shares AG has been pioneering the institutionalisation of crypto assets into portfolio allocation since listing the first and only crypto basket ETP (HODL) on the Swiss stock exchange in November 2018. Since then, the issuer has launched a total of 12 different crypto ETPs to market, most recently the only Polkadot ETP (ADOT) in February 2021 with assets under management in the product already exceeding USD30 million. The Swiss issuer is the only crypto focused ETP issuer with such breadth and depth and has since secured its position as the leading crypto ETP issuer globally reaching USD1 billion in assets under management in February 2021.
