21Shares: The Era of Active Management in Cryptocurrency ETFs Begins, Staking Yields as the New Engine

Crypto asset management firm 21Shares President Duncan Moir told Cointelegraph that as the market matures, cryptocurrency ETFs and ETPs will evolve from simple passive price tracking to active management. He believes that, as an emerging and continuously growing asset class, cryptocurrencies are particularly suitable for active management to identify opportunities and control risks.

Active Management Replacing Passive Tracking: An Inevitable Evolution in Mature Markets

Moir stated that 21Shares employs bottom-up individual asset research combined with top-down quantitative and autonomous strategies to manage risk and allocate portfolios. The company is currently expanding its investment management and trading teams to support more complex product structures.

He pointed out that the integration with FalconX, which acquired a stake in 21Shares last October, is expected to accelerate the development of active products, especially as the company expands into more complex product areas. Moir emphasized, “We believe we will be able to offer powerful active management products.”

Regarding regional demand differences, Moir noted that interest in the U.S. market remains focused on larger-cap cryptocurrencies, while European institutional clients are more interested in emerging assets and Layer-1 and above application layer ecosystems.

Staking Yields: The Core Function of Evolving Cryptocurrency ETFs

Staking has become one of the most talked-about emerging features in the crypto ETP space, allowing investors to lock up crypto assets to help secure blockchain networks while earning yield.

Progress of Staking ETFs for Major Institutions in 2025-2026

Grayscale: Introduced staking functionality across all its ETPs last October, with Ethereum funds being among the first spot crypto ETFs listed in the U.S. to offer staking rewards; currently awaiting approval for the Solana trust.

BlackRock: In March 2026, a staking-mechanism integrated Ethereum ETP will be listed on Nasdaq, combining spot Ether exposure with yield generation. On its first day, trading volume reached $15.5 million.

21Shares: Recently launched a Europe-based ETP linked to MicroStrategy preferred shares (STRC), providing a channel for investors seeking yield assets through traditional brokerage platforms, with strong early demand.

21Shares’ Three-Dimensional Evaluation Framework and Representative Products

Moir said that 21Shares assesses whether to launch new ETPs based on three dimensions: internal research insights, customer demand feedback, and future market trend judgments. This framework may lead to highly focused single-asset products or broader thematic multi-asset portfolios.

For example, the Bitcoin-Gold ETP, although only recently listed in London, has been online for over four years. Moir pointed out that it has achieved the highest risk-adjusted return among European ETPs. He emphasized that from a portfolio construction perspective, the combination of Bitcoin and gold is “completely reasonable” and allows effective diversification between the two assets.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an actively managed cryptocurrency ETF, and how does it differ from passive ETFs?
Active ETFs are managed by fund managers who select and allocate assets based on research and market judgment, rather than simply tracking an index. 21Shares notes that the emerging nature of cryptocurrencies makes them particularly suitable for active management, utilizing quantitative strategies and autonomous judgment to identify opportunities and manage volatility more effectively.

How are staking yields integrated into cryptocurrency ETFs?
Staking ETFs allow funds to generate additional income by using held crypto assets to validate blockchain networks. Grayscale has introduced staking in its ETPs, and BlackRock’s new Ethereum product also incorporates staking mechanisms. This model represents a structural evolution of crypto ETFs from pure price exposure to yield generation.

What is special about 21Shares’ Bitcoin-Gold ETP?
This ETP combines Bitcoin and gold assets, providing cross-asset diversification at the portfolio level. Moir pointed out that this product has achieved the highest risk-adjusted return among European ETPs, demonstrating the potential advantages of thematic multi-asset ETPs over single-asset passive tracking.