Zug-based cryptocurrency company 21.co is now worth $2 billion after a recent financing round. finews.com takes a closer look with the founders.
21Shares has just become 21.co. The company, founded as Amun in Zug, raised waves internationally four years ago when it became the first in the world to launch exchange-traded products on the Swiss Exchange (SIX).
Its newest announcement is likely to garner even more attention. According to the company, it is now worth $2 billion after getting $25 million for its recently concluded second round of funding while at the same time outfitting itself with a new holding structure. All that - in the middle of deepest crypto winter.
Tourists Gone
«We like winter», founders Ophelia Snyder and Hany Rashwan, both of whom are in their early thirties, tell finews.com in an interview.
«It is actually easier to focus on new ideas in a bear market because there isn't as much distraction. You also see fewer tourists,» say the entrepreneurs, who were introduced to each other by Snyder's mother.
They are getting ready for their next foray with new products, staff, and market expansion plans.
Double Unicorn
They have now reached the lofty valuation heights of a double unicorn start-up, something that is likely to be a source of conversation for business partners, clients, and the job market.
«In the meantime, we have become larger and more valuable than some of the banks and brokers that are distributing our products», both crypto pioneers say from the Zurich office of 21.co, located in the headquarters of now defunct Falcon Private Bank.
Understatement is not their thing. Rashwan, who has brought a bit of Silicon Valley back with him to the alps, compares crypto with the early days of the internet and seemingly wants to create the new Google for the industry.
«We are now big enough so that an IPO or acquisitions are up for discussion», says the entrepreneur, who has Egyptian roots.
And he expects to get clear support for that from two new 21.co backers, Marshall Wace and Valor Equity Partners.
Cash Flow Positive
The numbers that 21.co has achieved to date seem to back up everything that they are saying. Snyder indicates that 21Shares has been profitable since December 2019 and that it posted earnings of over $100 million by the end of last year. They have even managed to remain cash flow positive during their current expansion.
«28 of our 40 ETPs have reached record levels of coin volume», says Rashwan.
21Shares counteracted the crypto winter by lowering fees and launching instruments that aim to cap losses. Despite their ever-expanding product selection, they remain true to the credo of making access to crypto investments as easy as possible and informing clients by way of research.
Paranoia Needed
Their belief in the importance of research matches that of Cathie Wood. Loved by her fans who claim she is one of the world's best investors, she herself bought into 21.co last year with her own money. She has been on the board ever since.
«Cathie was an important supporter when we started the company», Rashwan says about Wood, who is going through an investment dry spell currently.
They both agree with the head of ARK Invest on one thing. You need to have a first-class infrastructure to build a solid investment house. With that, both Snyder and Rashwan are careful, despite their ambition, to keep in mind costs and painstaking attention to detail required for the expansion. «We are prudent, even somewhat paranoid», emphasizes Rashwan, adding that: «Only the paranoid survive.»
Falcon Knocks
The employees of 21.co see their daily entrance into the offices of Pelikanstrasse 37 as a constant reminder, even a warning, of how quickly collapse can come. Falcon had a very prominent role in the Malaysian 1MDB corruption scandal, and it ended being liquidated in 2020 after attempting an ill-fated foray as a crypto pioneer.
Ironically, 21.co itself came knocking at Falcon's door about a partnership - but they were rejected.
