21Shares Review (2026): ETPs, Fees, Staking and UK Access

Short answer: 21Shares is a Swiss crypto-ETP issuer founded in 2018 and, since November 2025, owned by the US prime broker FalconX. Its European range is one of the widest available: 60 product pages on its website, listed across 12 European exchanges. Its crypto products are physically backed debt securities issued by 21Shares AG in Zurich. For UK investors the useful shelf is much shorter. Four Bitcoin and Ethereum lines and one bitcoin-gold product trade on the London Stock Exchange. The cheap ones, CBTC and ETHC at 0.10% a year, sit next to older versions that charge 1.49% for the same coin. Staking rewards go into the product’s coin entitlement after the issuer and custodians take a cut of up to 25% or 35%. On its altcoin range, at 2.50% a year, 21Shares is clearly more expensive than several rivals.

Who is 21Shares, and who owns it now? #

According to its company page, Ophelia Snyder and Hany Rashwan launched 21Shares in July 2018. The issuing company was incorporated on 20 July 2018, according to a 2025 exchange notice. It began life as Amun, rebranded as 21Shares in early 2020 and was headquartered in Zug, CoinDesk reported. The issuer’s 2023 notices still gave a Zug address; it is now registered at Pelikanstrasse 37 in Zurich. 21Shares says it listed the world’s first crypto ETP (HODL, on SIX in November 2018) and the first staking ETP (AXTZ, in 2019). Those are the company’s own claims.

FalconX, an institutional crypto prime brokerage, agreed to buy 21Shares on 22 October 2025. At the time 21Shares reported “over $11 billion in assets across 55 listed products as of September 30, 2025”, a figure that includes its US ETFs. FalconX announced completion on 20 November 2025. Terms were not disclosed. 21Shares stays independently managed under Russell Barlow as chief executive, and FalconX said no changes to the existing European ETPs or US ETFs were planned.

The company page now cites “$5B+” under management, “50+” ETPs issued and 89 employees. We added up the assets shown on the 60 European product pages for 6 October 2026 and got about $3.8bn. The two figures are not like-for-like, because the 2025 number included US ETFs, but weaker crypto prices explain much of the gap: on 21Shares’ own data, ETHC’s net asset value is down 41% over 12 months and ASOL’s is down 47%.

What does 21Shares sell in Europe? #

It sells single-coin trackers, staking products, baskets and a few hybrids. Its products trade on SIX Swiss Exchange, BX Swiss, Xetra, Börse Düsseldorf, Börse Stuttgart, gettex, Wiener Börse, Borsa Italiana, Euronext Paris, Euronext Amsterdam, Nasdaq Stockholm and the London Stock Exchange, plus Nasdaq Dubai. The flagships, with data from each product page on 6 October 2026:

The pattern to notice is two-tier pricing. The “Core” products launched in 2022 and later are cheap. The older products that hold most of the money are not: ABTC holds slightly more than CBTC at nearly fifteen times the fee, and ASOL holds about 22 times as much as CSOL while charging seven times as much. Most single-altcoin products cost 2.50%, including the Dogecoin ETP on SIX and Xetra. AXRP has also traded in Swedish kronor on Nasdaq Stockholm since March 2025 (see our XRP ETP guide).

The newest additions launched on 22 September 2026. Be careful with ETHFI: it tracks ether.fi’s governance and utility token, not ether. Both new products are very small so far, so spreads may be wider.

Which 21Shares ETPs can UK investors buy? #

UK retail investors have been able to buy crypto ETNs (cETNs) listed on a UK recognised exchange since 8 October 2025; our UK crypto ETN guide covers the rules. 21Shares had listed its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETNs in London for professional investors since May 2024. It opened them to retail on 20 October 2025 with two Bitcoin and two Ethereum products. An FCA-hosted notice from March 2026 lists them with their London tickers:

• CBTC (GBP) / CBTU (USD): Bitcoin Core, 0.10%
• ETHC (GBP) / CETU (USD): Ethereum Core Staking, 0.10%
• ABTC (GBP) / BTCU (USD): Bitcoin, 1.49%
• AETH (GBP) / ETHU (USD): Ethereum Staking, 1.49%

A fifth crypto product, the Bitcoin Gold ETP (BOLD), followed in January 2026 at 0.65%. If you are buying in London, check the ticker carefully. ABTC and CBTC give you the same bitcoin exposure, and so do AETH and ETHC, but the older lines cost 1.39 percentage points a year more. Solana, XRP and the other altcoin products are not listed in London, so UK retail investors cannot buy them there.

For platforms, 21Shares’ UK pages for CBTC and ETHC name Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Revolut, Interactive Brokers, Stratiphy, Aviva, Saxo, Trading 212 and interactive investor. That list comes from the issuer, so confirm the line is tradable on your account before you rely on it.

On tax wrappers, new crypto ETN purchases have qualified only for the Innovative Finance ISA since 6 April 2026. Stocks and Shares ISA holdings bought before that date are grandfathered, and SIPPs remain eligible where the provider allows; the full rules are in our crypto ETN ISA guide. 21Shares’ UK disclaimer is explicit: cETNs are Restricted Mass Market Investments, they are not covered by the FSCS or the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the FCA suggests keeping such high-risk investments below 10% of a portfolio.

How safe are 21Shares ETPs? #

The structure is standard for the sector, and the risks are real. Under the February 2026 base prospectus, each product is an unsubordinated obligation of 21Shares AG. For each series, the issuer puts the underlying coins in a collateral account and pledges them to The Law Debenture Trust Corporation as collateral agent for investors. That is meaningful protection, but you are still a creditor of the issuer and not the owner of the coins. Our issuer safety guide explains why that distinction matters.

Some points that are easy to miss:

• Regulation is of the prospectus, not the issuer. The EU prospectus was approved by Sweden’s Finansinspektionen, and a UK base prospectus dated 21 April 2026 was approved by the FCA. But the prospectus also says the products are not collective investment schemes, and it is blunt about the issuer: “The Issuer is not and will not be regulated by any regulator as a result of issuing the Products.”
• Custody. Coins are held in segregated accounts with BitGo Europe, Coinbase Custody and, for some older products, Zodia. A July 2026 notice moved three products to BitGo Europe alone. The prospectus also warns that no party, including the custodians and the issuer, is liable for lost underlying assets, and that “in the case of theft, the liability belongs solely to the Investor.”
• Thin issuer profits. 21Shares AG earned $72.08m in management fees and $25.19m in gross staking rewards in 2024. After intercompany service fees of $79.49m and other costs, total comprehensive income was $2.63m, according to the issuer’s own summary in the base prospectus (p. 146), not its audited accounts.
• Closures happen. The terms let the issuer terminate any series “at the Issuer’s sole discretion”. It has done so several times: four products ended in April 2023 (notice), three more in December 2024 (notice) and the Staking Basket in August 2025. In each case the board judged the product’s prospects “limited”, and holders were paid a redemption amount. The Terra (LUNA) ETP is the worst case on record: trading was suspended in May 2022 and the product was delisted in June 2023, leaving an annual put option as holders’ main exit.

None of this sets 21Shares apart from its peers. It is simply what holding an ETN involves.

How does 21Shares pass on staking rewards? #

21Shares adds staking rewards to the product’s coin entitlement rather than paying cash, so each unit represents a little more of the coin over time. It keeps a share of the rewards first. The final terms for ETHC and ASOL allow “up to 25%” of earned rewards to go to the custodians and the issuer. For CSOL the limit is up to 35%. ETHC’s page says it stakes only part of its ETH so that it can meet redemptions, with rewards reinvested daily.

The 30-day net staking yields on the product pages for 6 October 2026 were 1.78% for ETHC (with about 86% of its ETH staked), 2.66% for CSOL and 3.58% for ASOL (99% staked). On our reading, these figures are after the staking cut but before the management fee. Subtracting the fee is our own rough arithmetic, and yields change daily. On that basis CSOL leaves about +2.3% a year, ETHC +1.7% and ASOL +1.1%. AETH, the 1.49% Ethereum line, earns a 1.47% net yield, so its fee absorbs all of it and slightly more. For more on how staked and unstaked products compare, see our Solana ETP comparison.

Is 21Shares cheaper than its rivals? #

On Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Core range is close to the cheapest. On altcoins it is not. Annual fees from issuer pages on 5–6 October 2026 (CoinShares’ Bitcoin fee is from its 23 February 2026 announcement):

On Bitcoin, CBTC at 0.10% undercuts CoinShares and WisdomTree, and only Bitwise’s promotional rate and a zero-fee tracker are lower. On Ethereum, ETHC is cheap, but CoinShares charges nothing on a staked product. 21Shares also keeps a larger staking share, up to 25% on ETHC against 10% at Bitwise. On Solana, CSOL at 0.35% is competitive. ASOL at 2.50% is the most expensive Solana product in this table. That 2.50% rate applies across most of 21Shares’ altcoin range, and on Solana every rival in the table is cheaper. VanEck is dearer than 21Shares’ Core range on all three coins. For the Ethereum field in more depth, see our Ethereum ETP guide.

What about 21Shares’ US ETFs? #

21Shares US LLC runs US spot ETFs on Cboe BZX. They include ARKB, the bitcoin fund co-branded with ARK (0.21%), and TETH, now the “21shares Ethereum Staking ETF” (0.21%, fully waived; on 6 October 2026 21Shares extended the waiver to 8 October 2027). TETH pays net staking rewards in cash at least quarterly. The range also includes the TSOL Solana Staking ETF (0.21%, waived until 27 July 2027; launched 18 November 2025) and the TOXR XRP ETF (0.30%, launched 11 December 2025). UK and EU retail investors cannot buy these funds, because they have no PRIIPs key information document. In Europe the ETPs above are the route.

FAQ #

Is 21Shares safe? It is an established issuer with physically backed, collateralised products and an eight-year record, but its ETPs are debt securities of 21Shares AG, and the issuer is not itself regulated as a result of issuing them. It has closed several small products, and in the UK there is no FSCS cover.

Who owns 21Shares? FalconX, a US institutional crypto prime brokerage. The deal was announced on 22 October 2025 and completed on 20 November 2025 on undisclosed terms. 21Shares remains independently managed.

Can I buy 21Shares ETPs in the UK? Yes, but only the London-listed lines: CBTC, ETHC, ABTC and AETH (each in GBP and USD), plus BOLD. Its Solana, XRP and other altcoin products are not listed in London.

Are 21Shares ETPs ISA-eligible? Since 6 April 2026, new crypto ETN purchases fit only an Innovative Finance ISA. Stocks and Shares ISA holdings bought before then are grandfathered, and SIPPs are eligible where the provider permits.

What fees does 21Shares charge? From 0.10% a year (CBTC, ETHC) through 0.35% (CSOL), 0.65% (BOLD) and 1.49% (ABTC, AETH) to 2.50% on most single-altcoin products, including ASOL, AXRP, ETHFI and ZCASH.

Does 21Shares pay staking rewards? Not in cash in Europe. Staking products add rewards to the coin entitlement after the custodians and issuer take up to 25% (ETHC, ASOL) or 35% (CSOL). The US TETH and TSOL funds pay net rewards in cash at least quarterly.

Not financial advice. Capital at risk. Crypto ETPs are debt securities that track highly volatile assets; you can lose all the money you invest, and UK crypto ETNs are not covered by the FSCS. Fees, listings and staking terms change, so confirm the details in the product’s final terms and KID before investing.