21Shares, recognized as a major global provider of exchange-traded products (ETP), has officially expanded…

Lede

21Shares, recognized as a major global provider of exchange-traded products (ETP), has officially expanded access to its specialized investment product that combines exposure to both Bitcoin and gold. This investment vehicle, known as the 21Shares Bitcoin Gold ETP (BOLD), made its trading debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Tuesday. The launch follows an official announcement confirming that the product, which tracks the performance of both the digital asset Bitcoin and the traditional commodity gold, is now available to investors through the LSE platform. According to 21Shares CEO Russell Barlow, the firm is dedicated to delivering a wider selection of innovative and regulated products, particularly now that retail investors in the United Kingdom have gained access to crypto-related ETPs. This development marks a significant step in the availability of diversified investment strategies within the UK’s regulated financial markets.

The introduction of BOLD to the London market allows for a broader range of participants to engage with a fund that bridges the gap between traditional safe-haven assets and modern digital assets. By utilizing the infrastructure of the London Stock Exchange, 21Shares is positioning this product to meet the demand for regulated investment vehicles that provide multi-asset exposure. The CEO emphasized that the company’s focus remains on providing these types of innovative solutions to the market as the regulatory landscape for crypto-related products continues to evolve in the region. The debut on the LSE represents a strategic expansion of 21Shares’ portfolio of exchange-traded products, which are designed to offer investors diverse ways to interact with the growing digital asset class alongside traditional market components like gold. This rollout comes years after the initial debut of the product on other European venues.

Context

The 21Shares Bitcoin Gold ETP was not a new creation for the London launch, as it originally debuted on the SIX Swiss Exchange in April 2022. Since that initial launch, the company has progressively listed the BOLD product on several other major European exchanges, including the Deutsche Boerse Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Paris, and Nasdaq Stockholm. This history of cross-listing reflects a broader strategy to ensure liquidity and accessibility across various European jurisdictions. The asset allocation of the BOLD ETP is specifically designed with a target of two-thirds in gold and one-third in Bitcoin. This weighting is intended to balance the characteristics of both assets, utilizing gold’s traditional role and Bitcoin’s emerging market presence.

A key feature of the BOLD ETP is that it is 100% physically backed by its underlying assets, providing a level of transparency and security for investors. The fund was developed in partnership with the investment research platform ByteTree Asset Management. According to the most recent data provided by the fund as of January 12, the ETP currently holds an allocation of 65.85% gold and 34.15% Bitcoin. This specific distribution aligns closely with the stated goal of maintaining a majority allocation in gold while providing significant exposure to Bitcoin. By maintaining a physical backing for the entirety of its holdings, 21Shares ensures that the ETP directly reflects the market value of the underlying commodities it tracks, offering a regulated and structured way for investors to hold these assets within a traditional brokerage account. This physical backing is a central component of the product’s design as it seeks to offer exposure to these assets without requiring investors to manage the complexities of direct storage or custody.

Impact

The financial profile of the 21Shares BOLD ETP includes a net asset value of $50.3 per share. Currently, the product manages a total of $40.2 million in assets under management. To maintain these operations, including custody, administration, and ongoing management, the ETP carries an annual management fee of 0.65%. This fee structure is positioned to cover the various costs associated with managing a physically backed fund that bridges two different asset classes. By listing on the London Stock Exchange, the product enters a major financial hub, potentially affecting how investors manage risk through regulated channels. The structure of the fund allows it to track its underlying assets closely, with the physical backing providing a layer of security for participants. The inclusion of Bitcoin alongside gold is intended to provide a hedge against inflation and monetary uncertainty, according to the fund’s descriptions.

The BOLD fund aims to provide investors with a balanced approach for seeking a hedge against inflation by allocating risk to both assets. The fund’s description notes that gold has a long-standing reputation as an inflation hedge, while Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as “digital gold.” According to Charles Morris, the founder and chief investment officer of ByteTree, Bitcoin and gold are increasingly perceived as complementary assets within an environment characterized by persistent inflation and monetary uncertainty. This perspective informs the fund’s strategy of providing equal risk allocation to both components. The availability of the ETP on the LSE could influence how institutional and retail investors approach portfolio diversification, particularly when seeking a regulated alternative to direct asset ownership. The $40.2 million in current AUM represents the fund’s established base prior to its expansion into the UK market.

Outlook

The listing of the BOLD ETP on the London Stock Exchange occurs within a broader context of significant growth in the global crypto investment product market. At the end of last week, the total assets under management for global crypto ETPs reached a level of $181.9 billion, according to data from the crypto asset manager CoinShares. Within this massive global market, 21Shares holds a significant position, particularly in the European sector. The firm reported that it held approximately $4 billion in assets under management for its European crypto ETPs at the conclusion of last week. This amount represents roughly 2% of the total $181.9 billion in global crypto ETP AUM, highlighting the firm’s competitive standing among global providers.

The outlook for 21Shares involves maintaining and potentially expanding this market share as it continues to roll out products across different exchanges. The firm operates numerous other crypto ETPs in addition to BOLD, including products that track various altcoins such as Cardano, Polkadot, Chainlink, and Aave. As the global AUM for crypto ETPs remains at high levels, the performance of diversified products like the Bitcoin Gold ETP will be a point of interest for market observers. The firm’s ability to manage $4 billion in European assets suggests a strong foundation for its continued expansion into the UK and other markets. With the global market for these exchange-traded products valued at over $181 billion, the strategic placement of physically backed, dual-exposure vehicles like BOLD on primary exchanges remains a core part of 21Shares’ efforts to capture a portion of the institutional and retail demand for regulated crypto exposure as it evolves within the international financial landscape.