UK launch to follow recent successful debut on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam
London | Zurich - 7 June 2021 - 21Shares, the Swiss pioneering Crypto ETP issuer, today announced that one of the first cryptocurrency exchange traded products (‘ETPs’) will become available to institutional investors in the UK to trade on Aquis Exchange. This arrangement is in partnership with GHCO, a leading market-maker and liquidity provider specialising in ETFs.
The 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (ABTC) will become available on Aquis Exchange, a pan-European MTF business based in London and Paris which offers trading in some of the biggest and most liquid stocks across 15 European markets. The ETP will be centrally cleared (CCP) and is engineered like an ETF. ETPs trade on exchanges in a similar manner to a listed stock and institutional investors in the UK will get exposure to Bitcoin via a regulated framework and structure which they are already accustomed to.
The ETP has been designed to provide institutional UK investors with secure and cost-effective exposure to Bitcoin without the associated Bitcoin custody and security challenges. One unit of 21Shares Bitcoin ETP represents exposure to roughly 0.00035 Bitcoin entitlement.
GHCO, an Authorised Participant (AP) for the 21Shares product, will act as the liquidity provider for the Bitcoin ETP, meaning that institutional investors will have access to ample liquidity as easily as the underlying asset. GHCO has been actively trading ETFs and recently started quoting crypto ETPs. It has an unrivalled track record in quoting the tightest spreads, a key demand for institutional investors.
21Shares is the largest cryptocurrency ETP issuer in the world, with over $1.5bn in AUM across 14 ETPs available on several European stock exchanges. The UK launch follows over two years of successful testing and launching of cryptocurrency ETPs by 21Shares for institutional investors in Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria and the Netherlands.
21Shares and Aquis Exchange plan to cooperate on bringing more of 21Shares’ suite of institutional cryptocurrency products to institutional investors in the UK, including ETPs in other prominent cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Ripple, Tezos, Polkadot, Cardano and Stellar.
Hany Rashwan, CEO of 21Shares said: “This is the right time to bring our successful crypto ETP to the institutional UK market. Our strong track record and existing institutional reach across continental Europe means that investors can confidently gain exposure to Bitcoin via a liquid and conventional investment product.”
Dan Izzo, CEO of GHCO, added: “ETPs are a key development for investing in crypto assets as it matures as an asset class. We expect more demand for this reliable, easily-accessible infrastructure with deep pools of liquidity – liquidity that we are happy to facilitate.”
Alasdair Haynes, CEO of Aquis Exchange concluded: “We have been working alongside 21Shares on this project as we are keen to respond to institutional demand in the UK for digital assets.”
21Shares Bitcoin ETP will be available on Aquis Exchange for professional investors only. The forthcoming UK launch is expected to take place this summer and follows recent successful debuts on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam on 1st June.
ISIN : CH0454664001 - ABTC - 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (man. fees 1.49%) in USD & GBP
About 21Shares
21Shares makes investing in crypto assets as easy as buying shares using your conventional broker or bank. Investors can invest in cryptocurrencies using a conventional ETP structure (or tracker) easily, with total confidence and security and cost-effectively thanks to the 21Shares suite of ETPs now composed of 14 Crypto ETPs : the 21Shares Crypto Basket Index ETP (HODL:SW), 21Shares Bitcoin (ABTC:SW | 21XB:GY), 21Shares Ethereum (AETH:SW), 21Shares XRP (AXRP:SW | 21XX:GR), 21Shares Bitcoin Cash ETP (ABCH:SW), 21Shares Binance ETP (ABNB:SW), 21Shares Tezos ETP (AXTZ:SW), 21shares Bitcoin Suisse ETP (ABBA:SW), 21Shares Bitwise 10 ETP (KEYS:SW), Sygnum Platform Winners Index ETP (MOON:SW), 21Shares Short Bitcoin ETP (SBTC:SW | 21XS:GY), 21Shares Polkadot ETP (ADOT:SW | PDOT:GR), 21Shares Stellar ETP (AXLM SW | XLME GR) and 21Shares Cardano ETP (AADA SW | DADA GR). The entire suite is listed on a regulated framework on the official market of Deutsche Boerse, SIX Swiss Exchange, BX Swiss and some on Börse Stuttgart in CHF, USD, GBP and EUR respectively. Founded in 2018, 21Shares is led by a team of talented serial entrepreneurs and experienced banking professionals from the technology and financial world. Incorporated in Zug, with offices in Zurich and New York, the company has launched several world firsts, including the first listed crypto basket index (HODL) ETP in November 2018. 21Shares has 14 crypto ETPs listed today and has over $1.5 Bn in AuM in total listed products.
About GHCO
GHCO is one of the fastest-growing liquidity providers specialising in exchange traded funds. It strives to make ETFs accessible in every market worldwide with a focus on intelligent algorithmic trading, tight spreads, reliable presence and the expertise to price a wide range of products.
With offices in the UK and US, GHCO is a market maker on and off all major European exchanges. Throughout a single trading day, GHCO quotes thousands of products and helps asset managers to bring even the most niche and esoteric products to market.
For more information, please visit: www.ghco.co.uk
About Aquis Exchange
Aquis Exchange PLC is an exchange services group, which operates pan-European cash equities trading businesses (Aquis Exchange), growth and regulated primary markets (Aquis Stock Exchange/AQSE) and develops/licenses exchange software to third parties (Aquis Technologies).
Aquis Exchange is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers to operate Multilateral Trading Facility businesses in the UK and in EU27 respectively. Aquis operates a lit order book and does not allow aggressive non-client proprietary trading, which has resulted in lower toxicity and signalling risk on Aquis than other trading venues in Europe. According to independent studies, trades on Aquis are less likely to lead to price movement than on other lit markets. Aquis uses a subscription pricing model which works by charging users according to the message traffic they generate, rather than a percentage of the value of each stock that they trade.
Press Contact
Laurent Kssis +41 44 260 8660 press@21Shares.com
Belinda Keheyan +44 7768 078 110 bkeheyan@aquis.eu
Freddie Barber +44 7825 197 570 fbarber@maitland.co.uk
Disclaimer
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