European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares is moving forward with a potential acquisition of its United States competitor, Valkyrie Funds. Valkyrie is an issuer of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. CoinShares confirmed on Jan. 12 its strategic option to acquire Valkyrie, a move that bolsters its efforts to penetrate the U.S. market.
A spokesperson for CoinShares did not reveal the terms of the deal. The representative stated that CoinShares aims to be the leading global investment company specializing in digital assets, and it was only logical for them to expand into the U.S. and join the race for the spot Bitcoin ETF.
The decision to exercise this option came as a direct result of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving Valkyrie’s spot Bitcoin ETF alongside 10 other spot BTC ETFs. The Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, the Bitcoin ETF, began trading on Jan. 11, 2024, on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BRRR.
On its first day of trading, Valkyrie’s BRRR ETF traded around $9 million worth of shares, trailing behind giants like Grayscale that handled more than $2 billion in such trades in a single day.
The acquisition is subject to the completion of satisfactory due diligence, the finalization of necessary legal agreements, and final company board approval. Valkyrie Funds is maintaining its operational independence until the acquisition is fully executed and finalized. CoinShares initially secured the option to acquire Valkyrie’s crypto unit in November 2023. The option is expected to remain active until March 31, 2024.
CoinShares’ progress in the potential acquisition of Valkyrie aligns with the positive developments in the U.S. regulatory landscape and CoinShares’ strategy to expand its digital asset offerings in the U.S. market. CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said that exercising their option to acquire Valkyrie Funds aims at extending their European success in the U.S, offering unparalleled access to regulated digital asset products to American investors.
Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald noted that CoinShares’ expertise in combination with Valkyrie’s strengths, promise to propel them forward in the American digital asset investment sphere, particularly within the digital asset ETF market.
Potential ETF-focused collaboration between Valkyrie and CoinShares would possibly look familiar as some major European crypto investment firms have already been cooperating with some spot Bitcoin ETF issuers in the United States. 21Shares, one of the biggest issuers of crypto exchange-traded products in Europe, is a partner of ARK Invest in the issuance of the ARK Invest and 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, which started trading under the ticker symbol ARKB on the Cboe exchange.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Europe |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | positive |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Jean-Marie Mognetti, Leah Wald |
| Companies | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Monex Group, Valkyrie Funds, ARK Invest, CoinShares, Nasdaq, 21Shares, Cboe exchange, Grayscale, Yahoo Finance, 3iQ |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | None |
