21Shares Names BlackRock Executive as New U.S. Business Head

Crypto-focused ETF issuer 21Shares has named Federico Brokate as VP/Head of U.S. Business to manage its growing U.S. business, the company announced Tuesday.

Brokate, who reports to 21Shares co-founder and President Ophelia Snyder, is overseeing 21Shares lineup of six digital asset ETFs totaling more than $3.2 billion in assets under management. 

In a statement, Snyder called Frederico's "expertise...essential to our strategy and continued success in the U.S. market."

"Frederico brings to 21Shares years of ETF industry experience across strategy, distribution, and product. We're extremely excited by the growth trajectory of our U.S. business."

21Shares' announcement comes as demand for digital asset investments soars in the U.S. The firm jointly with Ark Invest was among 10 issuers to start trading spot bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 11 (an 11th fund began trading later in the year). The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF(ARKB) has generated more than $2.4 billion in inflows, the third most among the 11 new products that track the ongoing price of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in market capitalization. 

21Shares is awaiting a decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission on its proposal for a spot Ethereum ETF that would be based on the price of ether, the token of the Ethereum smart contracts blockchain and second largest crypto by market value. It has five futures-based ETFs, which it listed in November 2023. 

Overseeing Strategy for IBIT

Brokate, who started his new role on June 17, was most recently Director of America's iShares Business Strategy for BlackRock, where he directed the go-to-market strategy for the BlackRock Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). That fund has received more than $17.6 billion in inflows, the most among spot bitcoin funds. Brokate developed and executed iShares strategy for more than 400 products touching over 30 million global clients, including strategies for BlackRock's first consumer-focused business targeting the self-directed market. 

In a statement, Brokate said he was "thrilled to be joining 21Shares...at such a transformative time for the crypto-asset ETF market. 

"As a crypto native firm with an extensive global track record managing crypto-asset ETPs (exchange traded products), I am confident we can continue revolutionizing crypto investing by bridging the worlds of traditional and decentralized finance."

Read More: Spot Ether ETFs Likely to Debut by July 2, Report Says