Decentraland, FTX ETPs Launch in Switzerland
21Shares’ launch spree in Europe continues as firm looks to expand in US
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- Firm expects further growth of Decentraland and the broader metaverse sector as it predicts that users will continue to distrust Facebook
- 21Shares CEO Hany Rashwan previously said the firm looks to launch ETPs, supporting what it considers to be the top 50 cryptocurrencies by the end of 2022
21Shares continues its product launching spree by bringing to market the first exchange-traded products (ETPs) focused on Decentraland (MANA) and FTX Token (FTT).
The products were set to begin trading on Thursday in Switzerland.
“Adding the world’s first NFT & single Metaverse ETP and one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges to our product suite is a key milestone for us in making crypto accessible for everyone,” 21Shares CEO Hany Rashwan said in a statement.
Decentraland is the first decentralized and user-owned virtual reality platform that allows users to create, experience and monetize content and applications.
MANA’s market capitalization is about $5.1 billion, according to CoinGecko. Its price of $3.35 was up 31% from seven days ago, as of noon ET on Thursday.
By launching a product with exposure to MANA, the firm is offering its clients access to the latest Web3 use case, a 21Shares spokesperson told Blockworks.
21Shares noted in its State of Crypto report published this week that the global augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality market is expected to reach roughly $300 billion by 2024, according to Statista.
The report adds that Ethereum-based virtual games Sandbox (SAND) and Decentraland rose by about 156,000% and 39,000% respectively in 2021.
“We anticipate that Decentraland and the metaverse sector is going to keep up with this adoption rate and awareness as users continue to distrust Facebook.”
Facebook parent Meta reported a loss of more than $10 billion from the company’s first forays into the metaverse during its latest earnings call.
Meanwhile, the 21Shares FTX Token ETP will invest in the token of crypto derivatives exchange FTX, which allows users to stake FTT, get trading fee discounts and participate in the community government voting.
“FTX Token is an attractive investment case, as it offers exposure to the third-largest crypto exchange in the world with over $2.5 billion in daily trading volume,” a 21Shares representative explained.
21Shares manages roughly $2 billion across 28 crypto ETPs and more than 100 listings.
The company most recently launched ETPs that have Aave (AAVE), Chainlink (LINK) and Uniswap (UNI) as underlying assets, also in Switzerland. Rashwan told Blockworks at the time that the firm aims to support what it considers to be the top 50 cryptocurrencies by the end of the year.
The firm evaluates new listings based on its trading metrics, team, investors, community and social reach, among other factors.
21Shares is also looking to build its presence in the US.
The firm hired Kayle Watson as its head of US sales in November, according to Watson’s LinkedIn page. Prior to joining 21Shares, he had spent about eight years at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, serving as the director of its iShares institutional asset manager and hedge fund sales group.
“21Shares is looking to provide investors with the most innovative, physically-backed crypto ETPs and index solutions,” a spokesperson said. “Just as we have in Europe, where we’ve assembled the world’s largest product suite.”
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