21Shares parent company raises $25 million at $2 billion valuation

21.co, the parent company of crypto investing firm 21Shares, has raised $25 million in a funding round led by Marshall Wace.

The fundraising brings the company’s post-money valuation to $2 billion, making it "Switzerland's largest crypto unicorn,” the company said in a release. Other investors in the round include Collab+Currency, Quiet Ventures, ETFS Capital and Valor Equity Partners. 

21Shares announced its newly formed parent company on Tuesday alongside the funding round. 

Founded in 2018, the investment firm is now the world's largest issuer of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs).  

Amun Holdings, which owned both 21Shares and token-provider Amun, announced a fundraising round back in May 2021 with backers including Morgan Creek Digital and Ark Investment Management’s CEO Cathie Wood. 

21.co is now designed to unite 21Shares with Amun and other upcoming crypto projects, 21.co co-founder Hany Rashwan told The Block. He said 21.co's product stack is like Amazon Web Services, helping other asset managers and customers bring products to market.

The firm ended 2021 "on a nine-figure revenue run rate and has seen sustained inflows, even during down markets,” according to the release.

The new round – which was closed amid 2022's struggling crypto markets – will be used to drive growth through expansion into key markets, product launches and hiring. 

The investment firm has already been expanding its operations in Europe and the Middle East. The firm appointed Sherif El-Haddad to lead its market operation in the Middle East in August. It also made several key hires in Europe from leading investment banks, like JPMorgan and Barclays. 

The United Arab Emirates is quickly becoming a crypto hub with many leading crypto companies securing approval to operate in Dubai. In March, the city set up the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to oversee digital asset regulation.