Digital asset prime broker FalconX agreed to acquire crypto asset manager 21Shares, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will allow FalconX to expand beyond market making and liquidity services into issuing crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a particularly prevalent area of institutional adoption of cryptocurrency.
The combined business will develop crypto funds centered on derivatives and structured products, the report said, citing an interview with company executives. FalconX’s co-founder Raghu Yarlagadda said the combined company will be able to bring products to market faster.
After the long-awaited debut of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in January 2024, followed by their ether equivalents a few months later, asset managers began exploring which smaller tokens they could offer exposure to through these products. ETFs tracking XRP and DOGE debuted in the U.S. last month, with SOL and LTC set to follow but face delays due to the government shutdown.
Zurich, Switzerland-based 21Shares is one of the most prominent providers of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), having listed them in Europe long before they became available in the U.S. The firm reached the milestone of listing 50 ETPs in Europe last month.
