CoinShares Acquires Elwood Technologies’ ETF Index Business
New research unit expands footprint of Europe’s largest digital asset investment firm into equities market
Blockworks Exclusive art by Axel Rangel
key takeaways
- The Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity UCITS ETF has grown to more than $1 billion in assets since its 2019 inception.
- Acquisition comes after CoinShares partnered with 3iQ to offer an ETF in Canada
CoinShares has acquired the ETF index business of Elwood Technologies, which had previously partnered with Invesco to provide exposure to internationally listed companies generating earnings from blockchain technology.
Elwood’s research team focused on companies in the digital assets space will now join CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital asset investment firm. Elwood partnered with Invesco to launch the Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity UCITS ETF, which has grown to more than $1 billion in assets since hitting the market in 2019.
There will be no changes to the Elwood Index and no impact to the Invesco Blockchain ETF as a result of the $17 million transaction, according to a CoinShares news release.
“As the popularity of thematic ETFs continues to grow, we have seen notable performance dispersion between strategies targeting similar exposures,” CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said in a statement. “With investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies as well as equities benefiting from blockchain technology, the Elwood Index and Invesco are natural partners for CoinShares.”
Blockchain ETFs in the US and Europe had the largest returns gap between the best- and worst-performing fund in the trailing year when compared to other thematic fund categories in their respective regions, as of mid-June, Bloomberg Intelligence data showed.
Invesco, an Atlanta-based manager that currently manages $1.5 trillion of assets, filed plans with the SEC last month to bring to market the Invesco Galaxy Crypto Economy ETF. The planned offering tracks an index by Alerian that comprises the stocks of digital asset companies, cryptocurrency futures, and exchange-traded products and private investment trusts linked to cryptocurrencies.
The latest acquisition comes after CoinShares partnered with 3iQ, Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund manager, in April to offer bitcoin and Ether ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer of CoinShares, said in May that the firm would launch a new business segment focused on the consumer finance market, noting that the demand for digital assets goes beyond CoinShares’ wealthiest clients.
“The ongoing success and growth of the Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity ETF is a testament to the sector’s momentum and the compelling opportunities for investors,” said Gary Buxton, Invesco’s head of EMEA ETFs. “We have enjoyed our three-year collaboration with Elwood and are looking forward to building on this partnership with CoinShares.”
A CoinShares spokesperson declined Blockworks’ request for comment about the types of ETFs for which CoinShares could use Elwood’s index capabilities.
