CoinShares to Acquire Global Blockchain Equity Index

• CoinShares expands footprint into equities market with acquisition of the ETF index business from Elwood Technologies
  
• The Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity UCITS ETF has over $1B in assets under management
• CoinShares also adds equity research unit and coverage of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related equities

ST. HELIER, Jersey, July 6, 2021 -- CoinShares International Limited (Nasdaq First North Growth Market: CS) (“CoinShares”), Europe’s largest digital asset investment firm, today announced it has acquired the ETF index business from Elwood Technologies. Through this platform, Elwood partnered with Invesco to launch the Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity UCITS ETF (the “Invesco Blockchain ETF”), which provides exposure to internationally listed companies generating earnings from blockchain technology.

The Invesco Blockchain ETF has amassed over $1B in assets since its inception in 2019. In addition to index creation activity, Elwood built a best-in-class equity research team focused on companies in the digital assets space. The equity research unit will join CoinShares and benefit from the scale provided by this organisation. There will be no changes to the Elwood Index and no impact to the Invesco Blockchain ETF. Furthermore, it will continue to publish research on cryptocurrency and blockchain-related equities.

CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti commented on today’s news, “As the popularity of thematic ETFs continues to grow, we have seen notable performance dispersion between strategies targeting similar exposures. With investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies as well as equities benefiting from blockchain technology, the Elwood Index and Invesco are natural partners for CoinShares. This acquisition marks another milestone for CoinShares as we execute on our strategic plan to generate shareholder value and become a global financial technology company. We look forward to welcoming Elwood’s index platform as the newest addition to the CoinShares team.”

The collaboration between CoinShares and Invesco will further bridge the gap between traditional asset management and cryptocurrencies whilst broadening both firms’ connectivity with global institutional investors and allocators. With $1,505B assets under management as at May 31, 2021, Invesco is one of the world’s largest asset managers offering a comprehensive range of active, passive and alternative investment capabilities, and was the world’s first institutional asset manager to introduce a blockchain-focused thematic ETF via its partnership with Elwood in March 2019.

Elwood Technologies CEO James Stickland added “Elwood is proud to have created the Elwood Global Blockchain Equity Index. This transaction enables Elwood to focus on its core mission to provide world class technology infrastructure for the digital assets market. We are very excited about the opportunities in this rapidly growing area.”

CoinShares reported £17.1M in Q1 asset management revenues from its digital asset ETP business, and recently launched bitcoin and ethereum ETFs in collaboration with 3iQ, and made a strategic investment in a new ESG-focused investment management company in the United States, Viridi Funds.

Gary Buxton, Head of EMEA ETFs at Invesco, concluded: “We believe that blockchain technology and crypto assets will continue to evolve and play an increasingly significant, mainstream role across business, finance and society. The ongoing success and growth of the Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity ETF is a testament to the sector’s momentum and the compelling opportunities for investors. We have enjoyed our three-year collaboration with Elwood and are looking forward to building on this partnership with CoinShares.”

Technical note:

On July 5, 2021, CoinShares International Limited entered into a sale and purchase agreement (the “SPA”) to acquire the entire issued share capital in Elwood Asset Management Services Limited from its parent company, Elwood Capital Management Limited (“ECML”) for $17M. The transaction will settle via an equity swap, through the issuance of 1,298,322 new ordinary shares at a price of $13.09 per share, and is expected to complete in the second week of July upon admission of the consideration shares to trading. The SPA contains customary vendor and purchaser representations and covenants. Upon completion, the consideration shares received by ECML will be subject to a standard 12 month lock up. CoinShares will own the intellectual property and existing contracts relating to Elwood’s index business, including several products currently under development with Invesco.

About the CoinShares Group

CoinShares is Europe's largest digital asset investment firm, managing billions of assets on behalf of a global client base. Our mission is to expand access to the digital asset ecosystem by pioneering new financial products and services that provide investors with trust and transparency when accessing this new asset class. CoinShares is publicly listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market under ticker CS.

For more information on CoinShares, visit: https://coinshares.com

Media Contact
Jay Morakis
+1 646 859 5951
[email protected]

Company
+ 44 (0)1534 513 100
[email protected]

Certified Advisor
Mangold Fondkommission AB
+ 46 (0)8 503 015 50
[email protected]

This information is information that CoinShares International Limited is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation 596 / 2014. The information in this press release has been published through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 8:00 am BST on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.

Forward-Looking Statements:

The report contains certain forward-looking statements and opinions. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not relate to historical facts and events, and such statements and opinions pertaining to the future that, for example, contain wordings such as "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "assumes", "forecasts", "intends", "could", "will", "should", "would", "according to estimates”, “is of the opinion", "may", "plans”, "potential", "predicts", "projects", "to the knowledge of” or similar expressions, which are intended to identify a statement as forward-looking. This applies, in particular, to statements and opinions in the report concerning future financial returns, plans and expectations with respect to the business and management of the Company, future growth and profitability, and the general economic and regulatory environment, and other matters affecting the Company.

Forward-looking statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made according to the best of the Company's knowledge. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results, including the Company's cash flow, financial position, and operating profit, to differ from the information presented in such statements, to fail to meet expectations expressly or implicitly assumed or described in those statements or to turn out to be less favourable than the results expressly or implicitly assumed or described in those statements. Accordingly, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein and are strongly advised to read the entire report. The Company cannot give any assurance regarding the future accuracy of the opinions set forth herein or as to the actual occurrence of any predicted developments.

In light of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions associated with forward-looking statements, it is possible that the future events mentioned in the report may not occur. Moreover, the forward-looking estimates and forecasts derived from third party studies referred to in the report may prove to be inaccurate. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those presented in such statements due to, without limitation, changes in general economic conditions, in particular economic conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, changes affecting interest rate levels, changes affecting currency exchange rate, changes in levels of competition and changes in laws and regulations.