21Shares president Duncan Moir says actively managed exchange-traded products represent the next stage of crypto investing, as issuers across the industry move beyond simple price-tracking funds.
The company, which manages roughly $11 billion across 55 products and was acquired by digital asset prime broker FalconX in October 2025, has been expanding its portfolio management and trading teams to support more complex strategies.
Moir told Cointelegraph that the crypto asset class is particularly suited to active management given its early stage of development, and that 21shares combines bottom-up research on individual assets with quantitative and discretionary top-down approaches.
Active ETFs globally held nearly $1.8 trillion in assets at the end of 2025, according to data from Morningstar and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Regional Divergence in Institutional Demand
Moir described a clear split in where institutional interest is concentrated. U.S. investors remain focused on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), while European institutions - already holding those assets - are increasingly seeking exposure to newer tokens and application-layer protocols.
He attributed this to a more mature investor base in Europe, where crypto allocations are further along in their development.
21shares recently launched a European ETP linked to Strategy's STRC preferred share, offering exposure to the 11.5% annual dividend-paying instrument tied to Strategy's Bitcoin-focused capital stack.
Moir said the product has seen early demand across multiple regions from investors seeking yield-generating assets accessible through traditional brokerage channels.
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Staking and Yield Products Gaining Ground
Active management is not the only direction the market is moving. Staking-enabled products have emerged as a distinct product category in 2026. BlackRock launched the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) on Nasdaq on March 12, recording $15.5 million in trading volume on day one with $107 million in seed assets.
The fund stakes between 70% and 95% of its ether holdings via Coinbase Prime, distributing roughly 82% of gross staking rewards monthly at a current annualized yield of approximately 3.1%.
Grayscale had already enabled staking across its Ethereum products before BlackRock's entry, making ETHB the largest but not the first such U.S. product. Pending approvals for Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) staking ETFs are in front of the SEC.
Moir cited 21shares' Bitcoin-and-gold ETP - cross-listed in London and live for four years - as an example of its thematic approach, evaluating launches based on internal research, client demand, and forward-looking market trends.
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