CoinShares Acquires Napolean Asset Management as Part of European Union Expansion

CoinShares has officially purchased French fintech firm — Napolean Asset Management — in a bid to drive business expansion in the European Union markets. CoinShares is a digital asset investment firm that had launched the world's first regulated bitcoin investment fund in 2014. After expanding in the US and the UK, the firm is now looking to establish its presence in other markets, potentially lucrative for the crypto industry. Napolean Asset Management firm meanwhile, has industry experience in providing crypto solutions to professional investors and has now become a part of the CoinShares team.

The completion of this acquisition comes after France's top financial regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, granted all necessary approvals.

With this deal, CoinShares will begin providing services around Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) and Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) in the EU markets.

“The AIFM licence is one of the most rigorous European regulations for Asset Managers and is a key component in CoinShares' ambition to become the leading investment group in the digital asset sector. The acquisition of Napoleon Asset Management allows CoinShares to offer AIFM-compliant products and services, in addition to its position as an issuer of crypto Exchange Traded Products (ETPs),” a blog post by the Jersey-based company said.

Bagging approvals from the French authorities is being seen as a positive and pro-crypto development by the CoinShares team.

Its CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti has linked the move with her opinion that favours the governance of the crypto sector with strong regulations.

“It has never been more clear that strong regulation is needed for crypto to thrive. As such we are very pleased to have received this approval from the AMF. Our regulated status in a growing number of jurisdictions is one of CoinShares' principal strengths; it reassures our clients and demonstrates our plans to lead Europe's digital asset sector,” Mognetti said in the post.

On 30 November 2021, CoinShares entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire the entire Napoleon Group.

The development marks another milestone for the crypto sector in the EU region after the European Union negotiators recently approved a package of crypto regulations for the bloc's 27 nations, known as Markets in Crypto Assets, or MiCA.

At present, the global crypto industry is facing a downtime amid recession-like climate brewing in the US and other parts of the world.

The overall market cap of the crypto sector that stood at over $2 trillion (roughly Rs. 15,610,304 crore) around March, has tumbled down to its current figure of $913 billion (roughly Rs. 72,28,058 crore) in the last three months, as per CoinMarketCap

Industry experts believed that, during these uncertain times, professional and institutional investors could become the saving grace for the crypto industry.