Crypto Asset Manager CoinShares Begins Trading on Nasdaq

Crypto-focused asset manager CoinShares has begun trading on the Nasdaq market.

The company announced the listing Wednesday (April 1), following its special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with Vine Hill Capital.

“The Nasdaq listing positions CoinShares at the center of the world’s largest and most liquid capital market at a moment of accelerating institutional adoption of digital assets,” the company said in its announcement.

CoinShares added that the U.S. market offers it better access to “the deepest pool of institutional capital globally” while getting it close to “regulatory and market-standard developments” defining the future of institutional digital asset management.

The company first announced its SPAC plans in September of last year, saying the deal would value CoinShares at $1.2 billion.

According to Wednesday’s announcement, CoinShares ranks among the top four digital asset managers globally by crypto ETP (exchange-traded product) assets under management, holding the top market position in Europe with around 34% market share.

Jean-Marie Mognetti, Coinshares’ co-founder and CEO, said the listing is about more than just a “change of venue” from Europe to the U.S.

“It reflects the strategic evolution of CoinShares from a pure-play ETP provider into a diversified asset manager specializing in digital assets,” he said. “We are continuing our development while diversifying both our product and revenue mix, including new capabilities in listed asset management, active alternative strategies. and decentralized finance.”

PYMNTS wrote earlier this year about the changing face of crypto listings following a wave of planned and executed initial public offerings (IPOs) from digital asset companies.

Many of these listings involved cryptocurrency infrastructure providers, and the interest in these firms matters because crypto’s past attempts at going public were in many cases “poorly timed or structurally mismatched with public-market expectations,” PYMNTS wrote.

“Earlier cycles rewarded rapid user growth, token velocity and trading volumes, which can be metrics that collapse quickly when volatility dries up,” that report continued. “The new crop of issuers is telling a different story, emphasizing custody, compliance, payments infrastructure and security.”

The industry had also seen a surge in venture capital investment, something that could indicate the sector’s normalization rather than its novelty.

“As digital assets inch closer to mainstream finance, the winners are likely to be firms that reduce friction, manage risk and translate crypto’s complexity into services that institutions can actually use,” the report said.