In brief
- FalconX has agreed to acquire 21Shares, one of the largest crypto exchange-traded product providers, though terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
- The companies said the deal will combine their infrastructure and product capabilities across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
- 21Shares will remain independently managed under FalconX, with CEO Russell Barlow continuing in his role.
FalconX said Wednesday it agreed to acquire Swiss crypto exchange-traded product issuer 21Shares, bringing one of the sector’s largest asset managers under its institutional brokerage platform.
The companies said the acquisition will combine FalconX’s trading and prime brokerage infrastructure with 21Shares’ exchange-traded product platform spanning Europe and the United States. The Swiss issuer already manages over $11 billion in assets across 55 listed crypto products, while FalconX has facilitated over $2 trillion in trading volume for more than 2,000 institutional clients.
The deal arrives as the crypto industry witnesses “a powerful convergence between digital assets and traditional financial markets,” Raghu Yarlagadda, CEO of FalconX, wrote in a statement shared with Decrypt.
Details of the deal were shared with Decrypt under embargo until Wednesday morning in New York, but were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, hours before the announcement was supposed to lift. Specific terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
FalconX and 21Shares did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for further comment.
Yarlagadda noted that crypto exchange-traded products are expected to “open new channels for investor participation through regulated, familiar structures,” citing his company’s work in building an “institutional backbone” for trading, derivatives, and credit.
That infrastructure is now being extended with their acquisition of 21Shares as a “natural next step” to strengthen market efficiency, Yarlagadda claimed, adding that the move is a “deliberate, long-term investment in building durable enterprise value across market cycles.”
After the acquisition closes, 21Shares will continue operating independently under CEO Russell Barlow. FalconX said the move aligns with its broader 2025 expansion push in trading, asset management, and market infrastructure, following earlier deals for Arbelos Markets and Monarq Asset Management.
Earlier in June, sources close to the matter told Decrypt that FalconX was exploring an initial public offering. The firm had reportedly begun early discussions with advisers about a potential listing within this year.
FalconX was valued at around $8 billion following a 2022 Series D round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and B Capital, more than doubling its valuation from $3.75 billion set after its $210 million Series C in August 2021.
In late 2022, the company disclosed it was among several firms affected by the collapse of FTX, with a portion of its assets trapped in the now defunct exchange.
At the time, FalconX stated that its FTX exposure did not affect client funds or any ongoing operations. The original link to the statement has since disappeared from its website.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Source: https://decrypt.co/345368/falconx-to-acquire-21shares-in-latest-crypto-industry-deal
