Digital asset manager CoinShares has acquired the ETF index business of Elwood Technologies in another example of collaboration between digital and traditional asset management.
A central feature of Elwood’s business is a blockchain ETF which it developed in partnership with fund manager Invesco.
The Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity Ucits ETF, which offers exposure to internationally listed companies generating revenue from blockchain technology, was launched in 2019 and has since gathered more than $1 billion (€850 million) in assets.
According to CoinShares, both the Elwood Index and the Invesco Blockchain ETF will be unaffected by the acquisition.
As part of a $17 million (€14.37 million) deal expected to close later this month, CoinShares will also acquire Elwood’s equity research unit which will continue to publish research on cryptocurrency and blockchain-related equities.
CoinShares states that the deal will “bridge the gap between traditional asset management and cryptocurrencies”.
It also signals a further move by CoinShares into the equities and ETF market. The Jersey-based firm reported £1.71 million (€1.98 million) in Q1 revenue from its digital asset business and also recently launched a range of bitcoin and ethereum ETFS in partnership with Canadian digital asset manager 3iQ.
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