21Shares AG, a Swiss-based issuer of crypto Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), and the leading ETF provider, ETF Securities have launched two funds that offer simple, cost-effective and direct access to cryptocurrency investments. ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF is the first Australian ETF to invest directly in bitcoin, and ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF is the first to invest directly in ether. Both funds will go live on April 27.
ETF Securities has partnered with 21Shares, the world’s largest issuer of crypto ETPs. 21Shares has over $2.5billion in Assets under Management (AUM) and has a current valuation of more than USD 700 million. In total, 21Shares offers over 130 listings with more than 30 products, including the world’s only ETP tracking Binance, four crypto index baskets, and two ETP with investor staking rewards (Tezos and Solana). Its products are listed on ten regulated European and Swiss trading exchanges.
Both funds will list on CBOE Exchange (formerly Chi-X). ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (Code: EBTC) will track the price of bitcoin in Australian dollars. It is fully backed by bitcoin held in cold storage by Coinbase. ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF (Code: EETH) will track the Australian dollar price of ether, which is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain. It is fully backed by ether held in cold storage by Coinbase.
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Graham Tuckwell, Executive Chairman of ETF Securities Australia says EBTC and EETH give investors a way of trading cryptocurrency in a tightly regulated environment, without the need to establish and maintain their own bitcoin or Ethereum wallets, or manage the risks. “Once we decided to build a range of crypto ETFs for the Australian market, there was only one partner we wanted to work with, and that’s 21Shares. Its pioneering approach to secure investment in cryptocurrency has been emulated by other fund managers around the world,” Tuckwell says.
Four years ago, Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder founded 21Shares to make crypto safe and accessible for all investors, including their mothers. Since then, the company has been on a tremendous journey to stay at the forefront of the market by providing investors with the most innovative crypto Exchange Traded Products (ETP), the broadest token solutions, and more forward-thinking solutions. Today, the company continues to drive rapid, targeted growth through first-of-their-kind products, key markets expansion, and strategic talent additions – all powered by free institutional-grade research to educate investors about the evolving industry.
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Hany Rashwan, CEO and co-founder of 21Shares, said: “We’re so incredibly excited to be able to offer the first direct exposure Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF in Australia. Australian investors clearly want and deserve an affordable, easy, and professional way to access the growing crypto asset class and we’re delighted to continue building accessible bridges into the crypto world. We’re starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum but have even more exciting plans for Australian investors”.
ETF Securities Head of Distribution Kanish Chugh says bitcoin has been the best performing asset over the past 10 years and ether has been one of the top performing assets over the past five years. “They may be used as an alpha tilts or side bets in a portfolio. They can also be bought as portfolio diversifiers, as they are completely different asset and uncorrelated to shares, bonds and commodities.”
Chugh says that for investors looking for exposure to cryptocurrencies, investment via EBTC and EETH overcomes the pitfalls of the cryptocurrency market, including low exchange quality, weak custody arrangements, vulnerability to hacking and the loss of private keys and passwords.
The net asset value of EBTC and EETH units is calculated by multiplying the coin entitlement of every unit by the price of underlying cryptocurrency as measured by CryptoCompare at 3pm Central European Time, converted into Australian dollars.
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