Bitcoin Plus Gold: 21Shares Launches Hybrid ETP to Hedge Inflation

Mix, but do not shake! The new BOLD ETP from 21Shares, launched in collaboration with ByteTree, contains 18.5% BTC and 81.5% gold at launch, but this proportion will change monthly.

The Swiss company on Wednesday announced the launch of the 21Shares ByteTree BOLD ETP (BOLD), a new product that aims to provide inflation hedge by tracking an index that provides risk-adjusted exposure to both BTC and gold.

A new hybrid ETP listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange is subject to monthly rebalancing according to the reverse historical volatility of each asset. At launch, BOLD contains 18.5% BTC and 81.5% gold.

The new ETP has been developed in collaboration with UK-based alternative investment provider ByteTree Asset Management. The product is positioned as “the world’s first combined ETP of bitcoin and gold.”

“Gold has historically provided portfolio protection in an inflationary environment, while Bitcoin is the digital equivalent of gold,” said ByteTree CEO Charlie Erith. In times of rising structural inflation and heightened geopolitical risk, we believe this can be an important risk and return diversifier in a balanced portfolio.”

21Shares co-founder and CEO Hani Rashwan noted that many people in the crypto community see BTC as a digital alternative to gold.

“This hybrid product combines the traditional value of gold with the promising returns of bitcoin, which many consider to be the new gold,” he said.

With the new ETP, 21Shares has reached a milestone as BOLD is the 30th digital asset ETP launched by the firm. 21Shares, formerly known as Amun, is one of the world’s largest crypto ETP providers, the world’s first multi-cryptocurrency ETP on the SIX Swiss Exchange in November 2018.

Earlier in April, 21Shares launched The Sandbox (SAND) based ETP to offer crypto investors access to the gaming metaverse. A new metaverse-focused ETP tracks the performance of SAND, the native token of community-driven gaming platform The Sandbox.

21Shares is also among the companies expected to launch Australia’s first Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) soon. According to a recent update from Cboe Australia, the ETF will not start trading on Thursday as previously scheduled due to additional checks.