Crypto firm 21.co raises $25M to value it at $2B

Sep 6 (Reuters) – Crypto investment products firm 21.co, the parent company of 21Shares, said on Tuesday it had raised $25 million in a funding round led by Marshall Wace that valued the $2 billion company.

“With this round of funding, 21.co will continue to drive rapid and targeted growth through first-of-its-kind products, key market expansions and strategic talent acquisitions,” 21.co said in a statement. .

The post-money valuation makes 21.co “Switzerland’s biggest crypto unicorn,” the company said.

The funding round comes as cryptocurrencies have fallen dramatically so far this year due to Federal Reserve rate hikes and ultra-high inflation prompts investors to dump riskier assets.

Collab+Currency, Quiet Ventures, ETFS Capital and Valor Equity Partners also invested in the funding round.

The company announced new parent company 21.co on Tuesday. Its largest subsidiary, 21Shares, is the world’s largest issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) using its proprietary Onyx platform, which is used to issue and operate crypto ETPs for the company and third parties, did he declare.

The round was the company’s first in two years. He said he ended 2021 “on a nine-digit rate of earnings and saw sustained capital inflows, even during bear markets.” He said that in the year since September last year, he had recorded $650 million in net new assets, with assets under management peaking in November 2021 at $3 billion.

“To support this rapid business growth, 21.co has increased its workforce by 75% over this period,” he said.

Last month, 21Shares said it hired Sherif El-Haddad as head of the Middle East, based in Dubai, as part of expansion plans in the region.

The UAE has emerged as a crypto hub as several of the world’s major crypto firms have moved into trade hub Dubai, which is developing regulations for the industry. The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, already has a regulatory framework for the industry.

Reporting by Yousef Saba in Dubai; edited by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.