21.co Announces Plans for New Operating Structure; 21Shares and 21.co Technologies to Become Separate Entities

21Shares will welcome a new suite of executives to drive growth for the firm

Co-Founders Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder will become co-chairs of 21Shares, while dedicating their executive time and attention to 21.co Technologies

ZURICH, 3 December 2024 – 21.co today announced the company’s new operating structure to prepare for a new phase of growth in digital assets and blockchain technology. 21.co’s operating structure will transition from one fully integrated business to two, separated core business units – 21Shares and 21.co Technologies. 21.co remains the Holding Company of both 21Shares and 21.co Technologies.

The separation of 21Shares and 21.co Technologies allows each entity to focus on its strengths and to more easily meet their individual business goals. 21Shares will remain laser focused on asset management and bringing the most relevant and high quality ETPs to market. In addition, 21Shares will be better able to capitalize on investor interest worldwide in an increasingly favorable regulatory environment, paving the way for significant opportunity across retail, professional and institutional investors. 21.co Technologies will focus on developing next-generation products and tools, such as tokenized assets, smart contracts and risk management, offering on-chain solutions tailored to institutional clients.

As a part of this change, effective 6 January 2025:

• Co-Founders Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder will become co-chairs of 21Shares and, following a reasonable transition period, will dedicate their executive time and attention to 21.co Technologies as the CEO and President of that entity, respectively. In addition, Hany and Ophelia will remain CEO and President, respectively, of 21.co, the Holding Company of 21Shares and 21.co Technologies.
• Russell Barlow will join 21Shares as Chief Executive Officer, overseeing the asset management and ETP business worldwide and reporting directly to Co-Chairs Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder. Previously Global Head of Alternative and Multi-Asset Investments at abrdn, and responsible for more than $200bn in assets, Russell brings 25 years of experience in regulated asset management.
• Duncan Moir will join as President of 21Shares. Previously at abrdn where he led the company’s crypto and blockchain strategy, Moir brings a deep understanding of the crypto space and experience in working with institutional investors.
• Further, Edel Bashir will take on the role of COO of 21Shares, bringing with her a deep expertise in managing complex operations. Previously, Edel was COO for Alternative and Multi-Asset Investments at abrdn, focused on streamlining operations and improving efficiency.
• To round out the 21Shares executive team, Andres Valencia a longstanding member of 21Shares, will become Executive Vice President of Investment Management. Andres has been instrumental in managing and expanding 21Shares’ ETP offerings, drawing on his deep understanding of trading operations and fund management to support growth in a fast-evolving market.

“This transition formalizes a structure we’ve been building toward over the past year, allowing each division to grow independently,” said Hany Rashwan, co-founder of 21Shares. “With dedicated leadership in place for both asset management and technology, we’re setting up 21Shares and 21.co Technologies for even greater success.”

“21Shares has always been about pushing boundaries and creating innovative ways to make digital assets accessible to a global audience,” said Ophelia Snyder, co-founder of 21Shares. “This realignment allows us to dedicate even more energy to advancing next-generation products like tokenization, on-chain solutions, and tools that bridge the gap between traditional finance and blockchain. We’re excited to see 21Shares build on its strong foundation while we focus on driving innovation at 21.co Technologies to shape the future of the crypto ecosystem.”

21Shares is one of the world’s first and largest crypto-native issuers of ETPs and has rapidly grown into an industry leader setting the standard for digital assts research, product innovation and education. After a year of incredible growth, 21Shares is thrilled to have crossed $10 billion in assets under management (AUM) globally. Most recently, the firm set its sights on expansion in the U.S. market, driving essential growth with the 2024 launches of its spot Bitcoin and spot Ethereum ETPs. In addition, 21Shares entered the UK market in May 2024 with the listing of four physically-backed crypto exchange traded notes (ETNs) on London Stock Exchange. Further, 21Shares has launched 11 new crypto products across Europe in 2024.

21.co Technologies will remain entrepreneurial, innovative, and focused on new product development, especially in areas like embedded risk management, tokenized assets, and data solutions for the crypto space.

Press Contact

Audrey Belloff, Head of Global Communications, [e-mail]

About 21Shares

21Shares is one of the world’s first and largest issuers of crypto exchange traded products. We were founded to make cryptocurrency more accessible to investors, and to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance. In 2018, 21Shares listed the world’s first physically-backed crypto ETP, and we have a six-year track-record of creating crypto exchange-traded funds that are listed on some of the biggest, most-liquid securities exchanges globally. In addition to our six-year track record, 21Shares offers investors best-in-class research and unparalleled client service.

21Shares is a member of 21.co, a global leader in decentralized finance. For more information, please visit www.21Shares.com.

About 21.co Technologies

21.co Technologies builds innovative products and tech solutions centered around embedded risk management, tokenized assets, and data solutions for the crypto space. The company was founded in 2021 by Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder.

21.co Technologies is a member of 21.co, a global leader in decentralized finance. For more information, please visit www.21.co.

Important Information

The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or other offering material and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy securities or financial instruments in any jurisdiction, including the U.S. Some of the information published herein may contain forward-looking statements and readers are cautioned that any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Additionally, there is no guarantee as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or availability of the information provided and 21.co and its affiliated entities are not responsible for any errors or omissions. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax or other advice and viewers are cautioned not to base investment or any other decisions on the content hereof.        

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