21.co Raises $25M in Latest Funding Round

21.co, the new parent company of crypto investment firm 21Shares, raised $25 million in its second funding round.  

London-based hedge fund firm Marshall Wace led the company’s second round of funding, 21.co said in a statement. The firm joins other investors Collab+Currency, Quiet Ventures, ETFS Capital and Valor Equity Partners to value the company at $2 billion, and bring its total equity funding to $35 million.  

ETFS Capital, which is investing an additional $5 million in the latest round, is also the parent company of ETF.com.

Founded in 2018 by Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder, the Zurich-based firm issues cryptocurrency exchange-traded products to make digital assets more accessible. Its recent valuation makes the firm “Switzerland’s largest crypto unicorn,” a company statement said. 

News of the latest funding round comes as digital assets have plunged in recent months. Bitcoin has fallen 57% compared with this time last year, while crypto firms like Celsius Network and Voyager Digital have sought bankruptcy.  

Optimism Despite the Crypto Winter 

Despite the market volatility, co-founder Rashwan remains optimistic about the company’s outlook.  

“We're incredibly long-term-oriented as a company, and we're not super worried about what's happening in the short term,” Rashwan said in an interview with ETF.com. “We launched at the height of the last bull market. And if you look at our first product, it was launched in November 2018. And shortly thereafter, we entered a protected bear market. We love building in the bear market.” 

Rashwan went on to add that the company has been “consistently profitable,” and “ended last year doing low nine figures in annual run rate in terms of revenues.” The firm touts over $650 million in new assets year to date, and states that it hit its peak assets under management of $3 billion in November of last year.  

“Even in the midst of crypto winter, MW believes that 21.co has the potential to revolutionize the industry globally and we’re looking forward to working alongside the team,” said Amit Rajpal, partner and CEO Asia at Marshall Wace, in the statement.   

21Shares also announced the formation of its parent company, 21.co, alongside the latest news of its funding. 21.co will also serve as the parent company of digital asset provider Amun. 

 
Contact Shubham Saharan at [email protected]    

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