BitGo and 21shares Deepen Alliance to Power Institutional Crypto Wave

NEW YORK, NY – February 12, 2026 – In a move signaling the increasing maturation of the digital asset market, infrastructure giant BitGo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BTGO) and leading crypto investment product issuer 21shares have announced a major expansion of their global partnership. The collaboration will see BitGo provide enhanced custody and staking services for 21shares' rapidly growing suite of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) across the United States and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), directly addressing the surging demand from institutional investors for regulated and secure access to cryptocurrencies.

This deepened alliance builds on an existing relationship, cementing a strategic framework designed to support the next phase of institutional adoption. As traditional financial players increasingly look to allocate capital to digital assets, the need for robust, compliant, and reliable infrastructure has become the single most critical factor for market growth. This partnership aims to provide exactly that, merging BitGo’s secure, regulated infrastructure with 21shares’ extensive and accessible product lineup.

Building the Institutional Bridge

The collaboration is more than a simple service agreement; it represents the construction of a vital bridge between the worlds of traditional finance and the burgeoning digital asset economy. For years, institutional hesitancy has been rooted in concerns over security, regulatory ambiguity, and a lack of familiar, trusted operational frameworks. This partnership directly confronts those barriers.

BitGo provides the core infrastructure required to give institutional investors confidence. Through its regulated and insured qualified custody framework, it offers a level of protection that many infrastructure providers in the digital asset industry cannot match. For 21shares, which manages a formidable $5.7 billion in assets as of February 10, 2026, this security is paramount. The partnership grants 21shares access to BitGo’s deep liquidity and superior trade execution capabilities, alongside competitive staking rewards, which are crucial for the efficient operation and performance of its physically-backed ETPs.

“21shares prides itself on providing a custody framework designed to support institutional digital asset operations and risk management across its global lineup of ETPs,” said Andres Valencia, Head of Investment Management at 21shares. “BitGo was selected due to the firm’s track record in regulatory compliance, safety and security, and we are thrilled to be expanding our relationship across staking and custody services with this important and trusted partner.”

This sentiment was echoed by BitGo, highlighting the long-term vision shared by both firms. “21shares is one of the leading digital asset managers globally and we’ve valued our partnership from the outset,” noted Adam Sporn, Head of Prime Brokerage and Institutional Sales at BitGo. “As 21shares continues to scale its business worldwide, we look forward to supporting their future initiatives with a shared long-term vision.”

The Regulatory Edge in a Maturing Market

A key driver of this expanded alliance is BitGo’s formidable regulatory posture, which provides a significant competitive advantage in an industry under increasing scrutiny. The company has proactively pursued and achieved several landmark regulatory milestones that position it as a go-to partner for compliance-focused institutions. This proactive strategy has culminated in a trifecta of achievements that underpin its market leadership.

Most notably, BitGo secured approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to convert its subsidiary, BitGo Bank & Trust, into a federally chartered trust bank for digital assets. This distinction places it among the most highly regulated crypto custodians in the United States, offering a level of oversight and security that aligns with the stringent requirements of traditional financial institutions. Furthermore, the company’s recent Initial Public Offering (IPO) and listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BTGO, following an S-1 filing that revealed over $3 billion in revenue for 2024, adds a layer of public transparency and financial stability that resonates strongly with institutional clients.

Across the Atlantic, BitGo’s foresight is equally evident. The firm holds a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) license from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), enabling it to provide regulated services across the entire European Union. With MiCAR establishing a unified legal framework for crypto assets, this license ensures BitGo can operate with regulatory clarity and offer standardized, protected services to partners like 21shares throughout the crucial European market.

Fueling the Global ETP Boom

For 21shares, this robust infrastructural support is the fuel needed to power its ambitious global expansion. The firm has established itself as a pioneer and leader in the crypto ETP space, having listed the world's first physically-backed crypto ETP in 2018. Its growth has been accelerated significantly following its acquisition in late 2025 by FalconX, one of the world's largest digital asset prime brokers.

While 21shares continues to operate independently, the strategic backing of FalconX provides access to a vast institutional client network and world-class trading and risk management technology. This synergy allows 21shares to innovate and scale its product offerings at an accelerated pace. The partnership with BitGo is a critical component of this strategy, ensuring that as 21shares launches new products—including its expanding suite of U.S. ETFs—the underlying assets are secured by a compliant, institutional-grade custodian.

The operational demands of managing dozens of ETPs across multiple global exchanges are immense. The integration with BitGo's platform streamlines these complexities, from securing the underlying digital assets in cold storage to managing staking operations that can enhance product returns. This allows 21shares to focus on its core mission: creating simple, cost-efficient, and accessible investment solutions that bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance for a global audience.

Navigating a Landscape of Opportunity and Risk

Despite the clear momentum, both firms operate in a landscape defined by immense opportunity and significant risk. The digital asset market remains characterized by price volatility, and the global regulatory environment, while improving, is still a complex and fragmented patchwork. Security is an ever-present concern, with the threat of sophisticated cyberattacks demanding constant vigilance and state-of-the-art defenses.

This expanded partnership can be viewed as a strategic maneuver to navigate these challenges effectively. By entrusting its custody and staking to a federally regulated and globally licensed entity like BitGo, 21shares actively mitigates counterparty and operational risk, addressing a primary concern for institutional investors. The collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment to building a more resilient and trustworthy market ecosystem.

As institutional capital continues to flow into the digital asset class, drawn by the potential for diversification and growth, the robustness of the underlying infrastructure will be the determining factor for long-term success. The alliance between BitGo and 21shares is a clear indicator that the industry's leaders are not just waiting for the future of finance to arrive; they are actively building its foundations today.