Benzinga - Europe’s largest digital asset investment firm CoinShares was granted the exclusive option to buy certain assets from the alternative asset management firm Valkyrie Investments.
What Happened: CoinShares was given until March 31, 2024, to buy Valkyrie Funds, an investment advisory business focusing on crypto ETFs, from the alternative asset management firm Valkyrie Investments, as reported by in an official press release.
It will also include Valkyrie Investments’ rights regarding the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund and not-yet-launched ETFs.
Valkyrie would continue to operate independently until CoinShares decides to exercise its acquisition option. Bloomberg cited CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti: “If we can find a way to be part of this race, to find a way to be at the finish line with the right partner, that’s very important for us.”
CoinShares oversees $3.2 billion in assets under management and in September 2023 it launched the CoinShares Hedge Fund Solutions which will provide an accessible medium for qualified U.S. investors to access a range of private investment products around digital assets.
Why It Matters: Mognetti said in a statement: “The option to acquire Valkyrie is accelerating our expansion into the U.S. market and the deployment of our digital asset management expertise globally.”
With this announcement, both companies sealed a brand licensing agreement.
In June 2023, Valkyrie Funds had submitted an S-1 filing for the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, a spot Bitcoin ETF: “Throughout the option period, Valkyrie Investments is granted a limited, revocable global license to use the 'CoinShares' name for its S-1 filings with the SEC.”
If the SEC approved the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, Valkyrie Investments planned to include the CoinShares name, crediting the latter's first venture into offering a mainstream crypto passive product in the U.S. market.
Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart saw the CoinShares move as a big one that will launch ETF expertise to the U.S. He took to X and posted:
Have heard multiple rumors that Valkyrie's fund shop was up for potential sale but this is first i've heard of anything official. Potentially big news for @ValkyrieFunds & @CoinSharesCo. Would Bring Coinshares into US with a splash. They're currently a European crypto ETF issuer https://t.co/tYgxDmMbCJAlso Read: CoinShares Launches Hedge Fund Division In The US, Targeting Institutional Investors— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 16, 2023
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