FAQ

You can buy/sell our ETPs as usual via your existing custody account at your bank or broker - no external wallet is required for this. You can find our products with the corresponding ISIN, symbol, WKN or Valor at your custody provider. Our ETPs are tradable during the respective trading hours of the stock exchange (SIX, Deutsche Börse, Euronext, etc.).

No, you have the option to purchase our products through your existing custody account with your bank or broker. If you do not find our products on your platform, send an email to your custody provider to request access.

Similar to traditionally managed funds, our management fee is 1.49% or 2.5% p.a. depending on the product. This management fee is priced into the value of our ETPs on a daily basis. In addition, since our products are bought and sold just like stocks, the usual transaction costs apply. These are independent of 21Shares and are charged by your bank/broker.

21Shares ETPs are open-ended and have no foreseen expiration date. Our products are physically replicated, meaning they are fully collateralized by the underlying assets they track with 1:1 leverage. The underlying crypto assets are deposited in an offline wallet, also called "cold storage".

The trading of our ETPs takes place in whole pieces. The minimum invested amount is therefore the price of a single share (no fractions).

The ETPs of 21Shares are currently tradable on different exchanges (e.g. SIX, Xetra, Euronext, etc.). So if your bank/broker offers one of these trading venues, you have the possibility to purchase our products.

Since the crypto market is still in its infancy, you still encounter some issues when investing directly: custody, security, loss of private keys, trusted information, opening external wallets, and much more.

At 21Shares, our mission is to provide access to crypto assets for everyone. Our ETPs are 100% physically replicated, segregated, and deposited into an offline wallet, also known as "cold storage". Investors can invest directly through their existing custody account and do not require any resources for the management, custody and security of the underlying crypto assets.

The relevant information on our AUM (Asset Under Management) can be found on the respective product page and in the product brochures.

On March 2, 2020, we rebranded our ETP line to 21Shares to, among other things, differentiate our product line. 21Shares offers our exchange-traded ETPs and Amun offers immediate token investing for advanced crypto enthusiasts with their own crypto wallet.

Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) are collateralized, non-interest paying debt securities designed to replicate the performance of an underlying asset. In the case of 21Shares’s ETPs, our products replicate the performance of the crypto asset (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash) or the index it tracks (HODL5, BIT10, ABBA).

Digital Asset ETPs | 21Shares

21Shares values the basket on a pure crypto basis. Each fraction of our ETPs corresponds to a predefined crypto number, which can be seen in our product overview and the Final Terms of the ETPs. This number determines how many fractional shares of the underlying crypto assets are needed to back the value of one ETP.

Although ETPs are structured and operate very similarly to traditional Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), the primary difference between the two is that ETPs are debt securities issued by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) instead.

The market price of our 21Shares products replicates the equivalent value of the underlying crypto asset. Therefore, the price of the ETPs in the secondary market is close to the net asset value (NAV) of the product. Any discrepancies between the market price (supply and demand) and the NAV of its underlying constituents, would trigger arbitrage activities by market participants, causing the market price to move again towards NAV.

The Net Asset Value (NAV) per unit of an ETP denotes the dollar value of the underlying units. As a result, this is considered the "fair value", which is determined daily at the end of the day. On the other hand, we have the market price, which reflects the price from the last trade.

The market price of our ETPs is determined by supply and demand in the secondary markets. Depending on market forces, the market price may be above (referred to as the "premium") or below (referred to as the "discount") the NAV of the product.

The digital assets are held in cold-storage at industry-leading custodian banks. We have taken a number of measures to ensure the security of the underlying assets. These measures include: Cryptographic security, offline protection, multiple private keys, and whitelisting of wallets.

Our ETPs are collateralized debt obligations. As an issuer, 21Shares AG is always obliged to collateralize these products 100%.

The iNAVs for our products are distributed and calculated by Solactive AG. These data are available via Bloomberg, Reuters and IHS Markit.

Our goal is to help others launch their own products. If you are interested in launching an ETP, please contact [email protected]. There you will find more information on how 21Shares can help you.

We are changing the name of the products to 21Shares Tezos Staking ETP and 21Shares Solana Staking ETP to give investors full transparency of the nature of the product. This is not a new feature and for both ETPs staking has been undertaken since inception and the proceeds shared with investors.

In summary, apart from the name nothing has changed, and investors have always been benefiting from staking.

Our main mission is to build bridges between traditional finance and the crypto world and to give investors easy access to the digital asset space. Education and transparency are at the heart of this, and we want to ensure that clients know exactly what exposure and benefit they have when investing in our products. We felt that making it more explicit that both products undertake staking, helps investors' understanding.

Staking allows crypto owners to earn passive income by contributing to the process of confirming that transactions on the blockchain are valid.

Blockchains use several different mechanisms to confirm transactions are valid. The “Proof of Stake” method requires validators to put up (“stake”) tokens as a guarantee that the transactions they are adding to the blockchain are legitimate. The more tokens a validator contributes, the greater the likelihood that they will be selected to validate the transaction, earning a reward for doing so.

• If a transaction the validator confirms is found to be invalid, the validator loses a portion of their staked tokens. This aligns the interests of the validators with the interests of the overall ecosystem.

Crypto owners who are not themselves validators can contribute to “staking pools” which combine assets from multiple owners to compete for staking rewards.

• 21Shares Tezos Staking ETP and 21Shares Solana Staking ETP contribute to staking pools.

Staking allows investors who hold certain cryptocurrencies to earn additional returns by supporting the process of validating blockchain transactions.

Each cryptocurrency using a “Proof of Stake” method of validating transactions offers a market-determined yield on staked cryptocurrency.

• Solana yields 5.87% (as of 31 March 2022)
• Tezos yields 5.31% (as of 31 March 2022)

75% of realized staking income accrues to ETP investors, while 25% accrues to 21 Shares as a fee for facilitating and managing the staking process.

• Staking income is accrued and paid to the ETP by the staking provider. The frequency of payment varies by protocol.
• • Solana pays approximately every 2 days
  • Tezos pays approximately every 3 days
• Staking income is reflected in the product’s NAV (it is not distributed).

Staking allows ETP investors to enjoy these additional returns rather than having crypto collateral sit idle.

The primary risks include lockup periods, loss or theft of staked funds, and validator errors.

• Lockup periods: Lock up periods vary by protocol.
  Risk mitigation: We cap the percentage of fund assets contributed to staking pools to ensure adequate liquidity.
• Loss/theft and validator errors:
  Risk mitigation: We use a professional staking provider. Both funds employ Bison Trails, a professional staking provider. Bison Trails currently oversees $2.3 billion in staked crypto.

The product remains 100% physically backed when staking the underlying as it continues to own the crypto assets that are being staked. Staked assets do not leave cold storage.

We anticipate exploring the impact of staking on other 21Shares products as a part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the value our products deliver for investors.