21Shares has expanded its global reach with a new hire and product launches across different continents.
On Thursday, the crypto ETP issuer appointed Alex Pollak as head of UK and Israel business development from BlackRock.
In his new role, Pollak will be responsible for developing the 21Shares footprint in the two countries.
He spent 15 years at BlackRock in which time he occupied leadership roles in the iShares division as country head for Israel and more recently, working with UK institutional clients on long-term asset allocation.
Prior to this, Pollak was an investment analyst at Marble Bar Asset Management for four years.
Earlier in the week, two 21Shares products – the 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (ABTC) and the 21Shares Ethereum ETP (AETH) – became the first to list on the a newly-created segment of the Nasdaq Stockholm dedicated exclusively to exchange-traded notes (ETN).
Commenting, Helena Wedin, European head of exchange-traded products (ETP) at Nasdaq, said: “ETNs provide access to alternative investments while maintaining the transparency of a regulated marketplace, and we are happy to launch this new segment at Nasdaq Stockholm with 21Shares as the first issuer.”
Further afield, the firm is also partnering with ETF Securities Australia to launch Australia’s first bitcoin and ethereum ETPs and a blockchain education and research centre.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) and ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF (EETH) will allow Australian investors to gain wrapped exposure to two the two digital assets for the first time.
The two firms will also work on the research centre, which will cover news on blockchain metrics, price action, miners and custodians. It will build on 21Shares’ research on bitcoin, ethereum, solana, polygon, avalanche and other coins.
In the summer, 21Shares made inroads into the US as the founder of ARK Invest, Cathie Wood, joined the firm's board. In October, the two companies partnered on their second US crypto ETP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF.
