BitGo and 21Shares Deepen Partnership with Custody and Staking Services for US and European ETPs

BitGo Holdings and 21Shares announced an expanded collaboration on Thursday, broadening their existing relationship to encompass comprehensive custody and staking solutions for 21Shares' cryptocurrency exchange-traded products across both United States and European markets.

Comprehensive Infrastructure for Digital Asset ETPs

The enhanced partnership positions BitGo as the primary provider of qualified custody, trading, and execution services for 21Shares' investment vehicles. Additionally, BitGo will supply integrated staking infrastructure supporting 21Shares' US-listed exchange-traded funds and its global suite of ETPs.

The collaboration extends beyond basic custody functions. According to the announcement, 21Shares will gain access to liquidity spanning both electronic trading venues and over-the-counter markets through BitGo's institutional network.

BitGo confirmed that service delivery will occur through its regulated subsidiaries operating in the US and Europe. These include its federally chartered trust bank, which received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as well as its European operations licensed under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework by Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

Leading Crypto ETP Provider Scales Operations

21Shares, which operates as a subsidiary of FalconX, represents one of the world's largest cryptocurrency ETF issuers. According to company data published on its website as of February 11, the firm maintains 59 exchange-traded products listed across 13 different exchanges, with total assets under management exceeding $5.4 billion.

The partnership expansion arrives less than 30 days after BitGo, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, commenced public trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BTGO.

Institutional Staking Services Gain Momentum

The custody industry has witnessed accelerating integration of staking capabilities as institutional investors increasingly seek yield-generating infrastructure within regulated frameworks.

Coinbase broadened its relationship with staking infrastructure provider Figment in October, enabling clients using Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Custody to stake multiple assets—including Avalanche (AVAX), Aptos (APT), Sui (SUI), and Solana (SOL)—directly from custody accounts.

Approximately one month later, Anchorage Digital formed a partnership with Figment to support staking for Hyperliquid (HYPE). The service became available through Anchorage Digital Bank and its Singapore-based entity, with additional access provided through the company's Porto self-custody wallet platform.

More recently, on February 9, Ripple announced enhancements to its institutional custody platform through integrations with Securosys and Figment. The upgrade introduced hardware security module support, enabling banks and custodians to offer cryptocurrency custody and staking services without operating their own validator nodes or key management systems.

Liquid Staking Attracts Institutional Capital

Institutional appetite for liquid staking solutions has grown substantially. This approach allows investors to earn proof-of-stake rewards while receiving tradable tokens that maintain the liquidity of their underlying digital assets.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong-based custodian Hex Trust revealed a collaboration with the Jito Foundation to integrate JitoSOL, a liquid staking token operating on the Solana blockchain. This integration permits clients to generate both staking and maximal extractable value (MEV) rewards while preserving SOL liquidity and maintaining eligibility for use as collateral in lending and borrowing activities through Hex Trust's markets platform.

Coinasity's Take

The BitGo-21Shares partnership reflects a maturation phase in crypto infrastructure, where institutional-grade custody is no longer sufficient on its own. The integration of staking services into regulated ETP frameworks signals that yield generation is becoming a standard expectation rather than an optional feature. With BitGo's recent public listing and 21Shares' substantial AUM, this collaboration underscores how traditional financial service models—combining custody, execution, and yield—are now being replicated in digital asset markets through compliant, regulated channels.