21Shares AG (“21Shares”), the world’s largest issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs), today announced Copper.co (“Copper”) will provide digital asset custody and staking services to secure the underlying assets of its cryptocurrency ETPs amidst increasing interest from institutional investors.

Hany Rashwan, Co-Founder and CEO of 21Shares, said: “Safeguarding our digital assets in Copper’s award-winning custody architecture provides us with the best security available on the market. With this foundation in place, we can build more secure ETPs for our clients.”

Copper’s custody, which uses Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology, creates three separate key shards rather than one private key to largely eliminate the risk of exposure when signing transactions. 21Shares will also use Copper’s staking capabilities to manage its digital asset holdings.

As institutional money has flooded into digital assets over the past year, the growth in demand for cryptocurrency ETPs has boomed. These products are an ideal way to gain exposure to cryptocurrency without the complexity of direct investment. 21Shares’ ETPs serve this burgeoning demand, while the custody solution Copper provides diminishes the security risks that institutional investors need to avoid with this new asset class.

Alex Ryvkin, Chief Product Officer of Copper, said: “We are delighted to be supporting 21Shares. They are leading the way in the development of cryptocurrency ETPs, which make up an important part of institutional engagement in this maturing asset class. It is a pleasure to be working with them and we look forward to further collaborating as they grow.”

As of 01 September 2021, 21Shares manages more than $1.8 billion in 17 cryptocurrency ETPs and 77 listings, including the world’s only ETPs tracking Binance, various Crypto Index Baskets and two ETPs with investor staking rewards (Tezos and Solana). Its products are listed on eight regulated European and Swiss trading exchanges.

About 21Shares

21Shares takes innovation to the next level with the largest suite of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the world. In 2018 it pioneered the world’s first cryptocurrency index listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange, and it continues powering its cryptocurrency franchise with cutting-edge research and groundbreaking approaches to product strategy. 21Shares aims to provide all investors with an easy, secure, and regulated way to buy, sell, and short cryptocurrency through existing bank and brokerage accounts. The 21Shares issuance platform, Onyx, is used by both 21Shares and third parties to issue and operate cryptocurrency ETPs around the world. For more information, please visit www.21shares.com.

About Copper

Founded in 2018 by Dmitry Tokarev, Copper provides a gateway into the cryptoasset space for institutional investors by offering custody, prime services, and settlements across 250 digital assets and more than 40 exchanges. It is committed to providing flexible solutions for institutional investors that can adapt to the changing cryptoasset space, while enabling far greater transparency and control for asset managers. Copper’s fully integrated products are unique in the cryptoasset space. Underpinned by multi-award-winning custody, Copper has built the comprehensive and secure suite of tools and services required to safely acquire, trade, and store cryptocurrencies, including access to margin lending trading facilities and the DeFi space. At the core of Copper’s infrastructure is ClearLoop, a framework that connects the universe of exchanges in one secure trading loop — with real-time settlement across the Networks.  Integrated with market leading spot and derivative crypto exchanges, ClearLoop has already transformed the way in which institutional investors can engage in the cryptoasset space since launching in May 2020. For more information, please visit: www.copper.co