The Swiss-based investment product issuer – 21Shares – listed its first two physically-backed Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) on Nasdaq Stockholm. The underlying assets of the financial products are respectively Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to a recent press release, Nasdaq released a new segment for ETNs, a type of debt securities that track specific assets and trade on a major exchange like a stock. Exchange-Traded Notes are similar to bonds but do not have periodic interest payments.
21Shares – a Swiss organization that enables people to invest in various cryptocurrencies through conventional ETPs – became the first issuer of physically-backed crypto ETNs on Nasdaq Stockholm with Bitcoin (ticker symbol: ABTC) and Ethereum (AETH) as underlying assets.
As of November 2021, 21Shares managed nearly $3 billion in 20 European cryptocurrency exchange-traded products and 82 listings. The CEO – Hany Rashwan – commented on the most recent initiative:
“We are excited to become the first issuer of physically-backed ETNs for Nasdaq Stockholm, one of the most tech-forward global exchanges. Our partnership is a strong endorsement of 21Shares’ mission to make cryptos more accessible in a simple and regulated manner.”
In 2015, Nasdaq Stockholm became one of the first trading venues to trade exchange-listed products with bitcoin as an underlying asset. Helena Wedin – European Head of ETPs at the global marketplace – explained more about ETNs and 21Shares’ move:
“Exchange-Traded Notes provide access to alternative investments while maintaining the transparency of a regulated marketplace, and we are happy to launch this new segment at Nasdaq Stockholm with 21Shares as the first issuer.”
Earlier this year, 21Shares partnered with the German online retail platform – Comdirect – to bring its cryptocurrency exchange-traded products to the latter’s savings plan program (Spar plan). Following the development, Comdirect’s nearly three million customers were allowed to gain digital asset exposure in their savings accounts.
Rashwan highlighted his firm’s previous endeavors on the German market, saying that 21Shares was the first crypto issuer to list a “fully collateralized, 100% physically-backed bitcoin ETP” on most German exchanges back in 2019.
Marco Infuso – Managing Director of Business Development of the DACH region (the countries of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) – described this collaboration as a “milestone in democratization crypto investments.” In his opinion, many investors have been considering purchasing BTC, but until now, they did not have the proper investment tools to store the asset in a savings plan.