21.co raises $25 million and becomes Switzerland’s biggest crypto unicorn
21.co is unveiled as a parent company to 21Shares and Amun
ZURICH, 7 September 2022 /PRNewswire/ — 21.co, the world leader in providing access to crypto through simple and user-friendly products, today announced a 25 million dollars round led by Marshall Wace. This round values the business up to 2 billion dollarswhich makes 21.co Switzerland biggest crypto unicorn. With this round of funding, 21.co will continue to drive rapid, targeted growth through premium products, key market expansions and strategic talent acquisitions. Other investors in the round include Collab+Currency, Quiet Ventures, ETFS Capital and Valor Equity Partners.
In addition to funding, the company also announced its new parent company, 21.co. 21.co is a collection of companies, the largest of which is 21 Sharesthe world’s largest issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) – powered by Onyx, a proprietary technology platform used to issue and operate cryptocurrency ETPs for 21Shares and third parties – in addition to Amuna token provider focused on making the world of DeFi more accessible.
This round – raised during Crypto Winter – was the company’s first raise in over two years, a testament to the company’s early success and growing investor demand in the asset class. Proving such investor demand, the company ended 2021 with a nine-digit revenue run rate and has seen sustained inflows, even during bear markets. Year to date, from September 2021 to September 202221.co recorded above 650 million dollars in net new assets, and reached its highest AUM at 3 billion dollars in November 2021. To support this rapid business growth, 21.co grew by 75% during this period.
Launched in 2018, by Ophelia Snyder and Hany Rashwan, 21.co was founded to build bridges into the crypto world. Since then, 21.co has been on a tremendous journey to stay ahead of the market by providing investors with the most innovative Crypto Exchange Traded Products (ETP), the widest token solutions, a decentralized software platform to create, list and manage ETPs are global and more forward-looking solutions – all powered by free institutional research to educate investors about the evolving industry.
“My co-founder, Ophelia, and I set out with a simple mission to make crypto more accessible,” said Hany Rashwan, CEO and co-founder at 21.co. “Now we are the highest valued and largest technology startup in the Switzerland – and we are still only in the early days. 21.co remains committed to building innovative products that meet investor demand as this asset class continues to gain rapid momentum.”
“The success 21.co has experienced over the past four years is truly amazing,” said Ophelia Snyder, president and co-founder at 21.co. “We’ve built an incredibly diverse team, with some of the brightest minds in crypto and acquired best-in-class investors. Our efforts to revolutionize the crypto world and build bridges into the asset class are just getting started.”
“At Marshall Wace, our culture is built around innovation – and we saw an immediate alignment of values when we met the team at 21.co. 21co is a first-mover in the crypto industry: the company is focused on growth and committed to bringing new and innovative products to investors across markets – in a secure, accessible way,” said Amit Rajpal, Partner and CEO Asia at Marshall Wace. “Even in the midst of crypto winter, MW believes 21.co has the potential to revolutionize the industry globally, and we look forward to working with the team.”
“When I first met the team at 21.co, I understood their long-term vision and truly believed that the company would transform the crypto ecosystem,” said Cathie Wood, founder, CEO and CIO of ARK Investment Management LLC, and an independent board member of 21.co. “This round is a testament to 21.co’s early success and its ability to thrive in both bull and bear markets. I am proud to be a part of 21.co’s growth story.”
21.co’s increase follows a year of significant growth and product innovation. Most notably, 21Shares:
To learn more about the company, please visit www.21.co.
Press contacts:
Arielle Sobelhead of global communications, [email protected]
Megan Enrightcommunications manager, [email protected]
About 21.co
21.co is the world leader in providing access to crypto through simple and user-friendly products. 21.co is the parent company of 21 Sharesthe world’s largest issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) – powered by Onyx, a proprietary technology platform used to issue and operate cryptocurrency ETPs for 21Shares and third parties – in addition to Amun, a token provider focused on making the world of DeFi more accessible. The company was founded in 2018 by Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder. 21.co is registered in Zug, Switzerland with offices in Zurich and New York. For more information, please visit www.21.co.
SOURCE 21.co
