European investment company CoinShares has announced that it has exercised its option to acquire Valkyrie Funds. The acquisition news was driven by Valkyrie Funds’ recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR).
CoinShares to Enter U.S. Financial Markets
In November 2023, CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti revealed that his company has secured a “strategic acquisition option” for Valkyrie Funds. The deal was to be completed within the first quarter of 2024.
In its latest announcement, the European financial firm noted that the acquisition plan, which was accelerated by Valkyrie Funds’ Bitcoin ETF, will enable it to expand its business into U.S. financial markets. CoinShares expects that its latest move will increase its assets under management (AUM) from $4.5 billion to approximately $4.61 billion.
The metrics come from Valkyrie Fund’s current AUM, worth about $110 million, gotten from three major financial products – BRRR, The Valkrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF (BTF), and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI).
Commenting on how the latest acquisition option will fast-track CoinShares’ expansion plan, Mognetti said:
“Exercising our option to acquire Valkyrie Funds aims at extending our European success in the U.S, offering unparalleled access to regulated digital asset products to American investors. This expansion is a clear statement of our appetite for acquisition to support our ambition to be a global leader in the digital asset space.”
Meanwhile, Valkyrie Funds will retain operational control until the acquisition is completed.
How Valkyrie’s Bitcoin ETF is Fairing
Valkyrie’s spot Bitcoin ETF was one among 11 similar products approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The approval came after a ten-year-long delay from the financial agency.
While companies like Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity lead the chart, Valkyrie’s progress seems to be rather slow. Despite implementing a 0.25% fee on the Bitcoin-backed financial product, the company holds over $9.3 million in trading volume.
