• CoinShares exercises option to buy Valkyrie Funds following SEC’s spot ETFs approval.
• The acquisition will add $110 million in assets under management (AUM) to CoinShares’ $4.5 billion.
• It also allows the Europe-based asset manager to expand into the US.

CoinShares, a digital assets investment firm based in Jersey, Channel Islands, has exercised its option to buy Valkyrie Funds LLC, the crypto exchange-traded funds arm of US-based firm Valkyrie Investments Inc.

The acquisition allows CoinShares to enter the US market, and follows the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, the company said in a press release published on Friday.

On Wednesday, SEC allowed spot Bitcoin ETFs to start trading on stock exchanges, including The Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR). Like the other funds, which include BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC and Ark/21 Shares’ ARKB, BRRR trading went live on Nasdaq on January 11, 2024 at 09:30 am ET.

SEC’s approval provides a positive regulatory development for the crypto industry, and offers CoinShares an opportunity to expand its crypto footprint into the US market.

“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,” Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO of CoinShares, said in a statement.

When the companies finalise the strategic acquisition, CoinShares’ current assets under management (AUM), of $4.5 billion will increase by about $110 million. 

The increase will account for the current total AUM of Valkyrie’s ETF products. These include the just approved Bitcoin Fund (BRRR) and previous offerings Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF (BTF) and Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI). 

Valkyrie Funds will maintain its operational independence until after the deal has received the necessary legal approval. The companies did not disclose the deal’s financial terms.