CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital asset manager, has crossed the USD1 billion in assets threshold through its XBT Provider products. The firm’s XBT Provider family of crypto exchange traded products (ETPs) provide investors throughout Europe with a simple way to access digital assets via their existing broker or platform.
As the macroeconomic landscape has changed over the past six months, investor appetite for cryptocurrencies has grown exponentially following news of adoption from financial services firms, institutional investors, and investment banks. The rapid growth of AUM within CoinShares’ XBT Provider family illustrates the increased drive from investors of all types to adopt cryptocurrencies into their investment strategy.
CoinShares Chief Revenue Officer, Frank Spiteri, who heads up the XBT Provider platform, says: “Bitcoin and other digital assets continue to fascinate and intrigue investors. As the investment environment changes and the need for alternative stores of value rises, an ever-increasing number of institutional investors are contacting us to discuss how digital assets can fit within a portfolio. Traditional banks, brokerages, and asset managers are responding to the needs of their clients, and their clients want bitcoin.”
The XBT Provider products aim to track price performance of bitcoin and ether (less fees) with minimal tracking error, and provide investors with an easy, cost-effective way to add crypto exposure to their investment portfolio via their existing brokerage or asset management platforms. XBT Provider launched the first exchange-traded bitcoin ETP in 2015, and the first ethereum ETP in 2018.
CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti says: “We see this USD1 billion dollar level as a validation of our belief that bitcoin and other digital currencies have a role to play in investment portfolios. If we compare with gold (which has over USD200 billion of AUM globally), we believe bitcoin is better positioned to react aggressively to current easing in fiscal and monetary policy. Our recent reorganisation of our Passive Asset Management business unit has yielded tangible results, and we are actively working towards our next targets”
This news follows several major growth milestones for CoinShares. In May, the firm launched its Capital Markets and Trading Services brand, with their capital markets desk continuing to see record trading volume quarter over quarter. In 2019, the firm traded USD3 billion in crypto assets, with 2020 poised to be an even stronger year, as the firm is on pace to triple this volume by the end of the year. CoinShares continues to see rapid growth across the trading ecosystem, especially in services such as prime brokerage, trading tools and insured custody, all of which pave the way for the further financialisation of bitcoin and digital assets.
