21.co, the new parent firm of exchange-traded products (ETP) provider 21Shares, has become “Switzerland’s largest crypto unicorn,” the firm announced Tuesday.
It raised $25 million in a funding round led by London-based hedge fund Marshall Weiss. The new funding brings the firm’s valuation to $2 billion.
21.co is designed to unite 21Shares with third-party token provider Amun and other upcoming crypto projects, which aim to build bridges across the crypto world, 21.co founder Honey Rashwan told Cointelegraph .
Rashwan added that all crypto ETP products launched by 21Shares will retain the same nomenclature. He also said that the new name will not change much about the way 21Shares does business.
According to Rashwan, the newly raised funds will help 21.co continue to expand its business globally. The firm is particularly focused on gaining more traction in 21.co’s core markets in Europe and is set to begin its foray into the Middle East, the CEO said.
Rashwan also noted that 21.co has recorded significant growth metrics this year, despite the current crypto winter.
related: 21Shares Responds To Bear Market With Crypto Winter ETP
According to the CEO, 21.co posted more than $650 million in net new assets between September 2021 and September 2022, bringing the peak level of assets under management in November 2021 to $3 billion. The firm has increased its overall headcount by 75%. Last year, Rashwan said, adding:
“These milestones demonstrate investor confidence in the future of crypto, even during the crypto winter.”
Offering a total of 39 Crypto ETP products in seven countries so far, 21Shares is a venture in itself that was born during a bear market. Rashwan co-founded 21Shares with Ophelia Snyder during a major bear crypto market in 2018. In the same year, the company launched its first physically backed crypto ETP, the 21Shares Crypto Basket Index ETP. The ETP was later listed on the Six Swiss Exchange under the ticker symbol HODL.
