21.co, the parent company of 21Shares, a major player in the crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, is expanding its presence in the world of wrapped assets.
21.co, the parent company of 21Shares, a major player in the crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, is expanding its presence in the world of wrapped assets with the launch of its own Bitcoin wrapper, 21.co Wrapped Bitcoin (21BTC), on the Ethereum blockchain.
The announcement, made on September 3, marks the latest addition to 21.co's growing suite of wrapped tokens, which already includes assets like Avalanche (AVAX), Polkadot (DOT), and Solana (SOL) on Ethereum. Earlier this year, 21.co introduced 21BTC on the Solana network.
The new Bitcoin wrapper is designed to bring institutional-grade asset management practices to the wrapped asset space. According to Eliézer Ndinga, 21.co's head of strategy and business development for digital assets, 21BTC incorporates "stringent asset management best practices," including the use of institutional-grade custodians and robust security protocols.
To ensure user protection, 21.co has implemented cold storage solutions and partnered with regulated third-party custodians. The company is also collaborating with market maker Flow Trader to handle the issuance of 21BTC. Wrapped Bitcoin tokens like 21BTC are ERC-20 tokens (or other smart contract-compatible tokens) that are fully backed by Bitcoin, allowing them to be used within the Ethereum ecosystem for various decentralized finance (DeFi) activities.
The launch of 21BTC comes at a time when the leading Bitcoin wrapper, Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), is facing scrutiny over its custodian BitGo's proposed partnership with the Hong Kong-based crypto exchange BiT Global. This partnership would grant BiT Global partial custody of the Bitcoin backing wBTC, a move that has sparked concern within the crypto community. Wrapped Bitcoin is currently the most popular Bitcoin wrapper, boasting a market capitalization of nearly $8.7 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
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