A major player in crypto investments, 21Shares, just rolled out a new product in Europe. This offering is tied to dYdX, a big name in decentralized finance, known for its perpetual futures exchange. This move aims to help large financial groups step into the DeFi world. It gives them a regulated and familiar way to invest in these new digital markets.
The company, based in Switzerland, is one of Europe’s top providers of crypto-focused exchange-traded products, or ETPs. This new ETP is the first of its kind linked directly to dYdX. It’s all about building a bridge for traditional investors to access decentralized finance using systems they already trust.
Bringing DeFi to Traditional Investors
dYdX has seen huge trading volumes, processing over $1.4 trillion in total. It offers more than 230 different perpetual markets. The new 21Shares product even gets backing from dYdX’s own Treasury subDAO, managed by a group called kpk. This structure adds an extra layer of confidence.
Mandy Chiu, who heads up financial product development at 21Shares, sees this as a big step forward. She called it a “historic moment for DeFi adoption.” It lets institutions get involved with dYdX through an ETP, using the same setup they use for regular financial assets. This approach helps make institutional investing in decentralized systems more common.
The new product will launch on Euronext Paris and Euronext Amsterdam. Its ticker symbol will be DYDX. 21Shares plans to add more features soon. This includes the ability to stake DYDX tokens. There will also be an auto-compounding system. This will automatically reinvest rewards back into buying more tokens, making things more efficient for investors.
dYdX itself has big growth plans. They want to offer trading through Telegram by the end of this month. They’re also looking at a spot market for Solana. Plus, they plan perpetual contracts tied to real-world assets like stocks and market indexes. DYDX stakers will get fee discounts. They also aim to add more ways to deposit stablecoins and regular money.
Other Platforms Join the Race
This launch comes as more crypto derivatives are popping up on traditional and centralized platforms. In the US, Kraken launched its regulated derivatives arm in July. This happened after they bought NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. Kraken now gives access to crypto futures listed on CME, strengthening its position with big investors.
Cboe, a global stock exchange operator, also has big plans. They announced continuous futures contracts for Bitcoin and Ether, set to launch November 10. These are still waiting for regulatory approval. These products are designed for long periods, up to 10 years. They mimic offshore perpetual futures but within a regulated US framework.
Singapore-based exchange Bitget is also growing fast. They reported $750 billion in derivatives volume in August. Their total volume since launching is now $11.5 trillion. Bitget has become one of the top three global markets for Bitcoin and Ether futures. Bitcoin futures topped $10 billion, and Ether’s open interest rose past $6 billion.
Charting a New Course
The regulated crypto derivatives market first got its start in December 2017. That’s when Cboe and CME introduced the first cash-settled Bitcoin futures. Cboe eventually pulled out in 2019 due to low trading. However, CME took the lead in the US market.
Today, data from CoinMarketCap shows significant interest in crypto derivatives. There’s about $3.96 billion in futures and $984 million in perpetuals.
All these developments point to a clear trend. The financial world is seeing traditional and decentralized finance merge. 21Shares entering with a dYdX ETP and the moves by other global exchanges show the market is growing up. It’s clearly becoming more attractive to big institutional investors.