Zurich – 13 November 2020 – Bitcoin Cash, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency, is largely expected to undergo a hard fork on November 15th, 2020. The upcoming fork is the third Bitcoin Cash fork, splitting the current chain into two parts: BCHN and BCH ABC. Whereas both implementations agree on a novel mining algorithm, supporters of BCH ABC want a portion of the block reward (around 8%) to be distributed to the developer team, which undoubtedly causes centralization to the development efforts similar to other projects.
21Shares AG, the pioneering Swiss ETP issuer, listed the world’s first and only Bitcoin Cash ETP (ABCH – CH0475552201) on the SIX Swiss Exchange in July 2019 as part of its mission to provide investors with the largest selection of crypto assets ETPs to implement any digital asset portfolio strategy. In addition, the two index ETPs 21Shares Bitwise 10 Select ETP (KEYS – CH0475986318) and 21Shares Crypto Basket ETP (HODL – CH0445689208), which consist of the top 10 and top 5 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization respectively, also hold Bitcoin Cash in the basket as an underlying asset and will, thus, be affected by the upcoming hard fork. ABCH and HODL are also listed on the regulated segment of SIX as well as BX Swiss exchange and Boerse Stuttgart.
What is a hard fork?
A hard fork, as it relates to blockchain technology, is a significant change to the rules of the digital asset’s underlying a blockchain. At the precise time of the hard fork, the blockchain splits into two separate blockchains – one following the old rules and one following the new rules. Depending on the support of the miners and the wider community, either one of the two new (forked) blockchains may die out (if no miner supports it) or both forked blockchains may continue to grow with different miners and supporting communities. A prime example for this would be the creation of Bitcoin Cash initially which was itself a hard fork from Bitcoin.
In response to the news of the form which will impact 3 of its eleven ETPs, 21Shares AG has implemented its fork policy. After the fork, the issuer will include BCHN in the products as, based on prevailing sentiment, the industry expects it to be the dominant chain post-fork and it will be supported by the custodians of the affected ETPs. From November 12th, 2020, before the fork begins, 21Shares AG has halted all BCH primary market activity. Once the upgrade is determined to be stable, creation and redemption mechanisms will be resumed. In the event that the less dominant chain (projectably BCH ABC) gains traction and 21Shares AG has access to any BCH ABC at its custodians within 60 days of the fork date, it would sell any airdropped BCH ABC tokens and pass any value achieved to holders of the ABCH ETP in the registrar at the close of business in Switzerland on November 13th 2020.
Notices to the above mentioned exchanges have been filed accordingly by the issuer.
About 21Shares
21Shares makes investing in crypto assets as easy as buying shares using your conventional broker or bank. Investors can invest in cryptocurrencies using a conventional ETP structure (or tracker) easily, with total confidence and security, cost effectively thanks to the 21Shares suite of ETPs launched by 21Shares and now composed of 11 Crypto ETPs : the 21Shares Crypto Basket Index ETP (HODL:SW), 21Shares Bitcoin (ABTC:SW), 21Shares Ethereum (AETH:SW), 21Shares XRP (AXRP:SW), 21Shares Bitcoin Cash ETP (ABCH:SW), 21Shares Binance ETP (ABNB:SW), 21Shares Tezos ETP (AXTZ:SW), 21shares Bitcoin Suisse ETP (ABBA:SW), 21Shares Bitwise 10 ETP (KEYS:SW), Sygnum Platform Winners Index ETP (MOON:SW) and 21Shares Short Bitcoin ETP (SBTC:SW). The entire suite is listed on a regulated framework on the official markets of Deutsche Boerse, SIX Swiss Exchange, BX Swiss and some on Boerse Stuttgart in CHF, USD, GBP and EUR respectively. Founded in 2018, 21Shares is led by a team of talented serial entrepreneurs and experienced banking professionals from the technology and financial world. Incorporated in Zug, with offices in Zurich, Berlin and New York, the company has launched several world firsts, including the first listed crypto index (HODL) in November 2018. 21Shares has 11 crypto ETPs listed today and has over $133 million in AuM in total listed products.
Press Contact
Laurent Kssis +41 44 260 86 60 press@21Shares.com
Disclaimer
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In accordance with article 109 of the Swiss Financial Services Ordinance, the Base Prospectus dated 13 November 2019, as supplemented from time to time (the “Base Prospectus”) and the final terms for SBTC dated 22 January 2020 (the “Final Terms”, and together with the Base Prospectus, the “Prospectus”) have been prepared in compliance with articles 652a and 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, as such articles were in effect immediately prior to the entry into effect of the FinSA, and the Listing Rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange in their version in force as of January 1, 2020. Consequently, the Prospectus has not been and will not be reviewed or approved by a Swiss review body pursuant to article 51 of the FinSA, and does not comply with the disclosure requirements applicable to a prospectus approved by such a review body under the FinSA. Copies of the Prospectus are available free of charge from the website of the Issuer. 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