European digital asset manager CoinShares is set to acquire Bastion Asset Management, a UK-based, FCA-regulated firm known for its systematic crypto investment strategies.
Key Takeaways:
- CoinShares will acquire Bastion to enhance its actively managed crypto strategy offerings.
- The move brings Bastion’s market-neutral and quantitative expertise in-house to target institutional clients.
- The acquisition supports CoinShares’ U.S. expansion plans, adding depth to its regulated product lineup.
The acquisition, announced Wednesday, is part of CoinShares’ push to expand its actively managed offerings and accelerate growth in the US market.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it remains subject to regulatory approval.
Bastion specializes in market-neutral and quantitative strategies for institutional clients.
Once approved, its full team, including CEO Philip Scott and CIO Fred Desobry, will integrate into CoinShares, bolstering its expertise in systematic digital asset investing.
CoinShares, primarily recognized for its passive exchange-traded crypto products, sees the acquisition as key to broadening its platform into a one-stop shop that blends passive exposure with active management.
The move also strengthens CoinShares’ position in the US, where its Investment Advisor license allows it to offer regulated products.
With Bastion’s quantitative strategies in-house, CoinShares plans to launch actively managed crypto funds tailored for institutional investors navigating volatile markets.
CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti called the acquisition “perfectly aligned” with the firm’s goal of building a comprehensive digital asset investment suite.
Bastion co-founder Philip Scott said the deal would help scale its investor base and accelerate the development of alternative strategies.
With Bastion’s track record and CoinShares’ infrastructure, the combined platform aims to serve a broader range of institutional clients with both yield-generating and market-hedging solutions.
As reported, CoinShares will go public in the U.S. through a $1.2 billion SPAC merger with Vine Hill Capital Investment Corp.
The deal will create a new entity, Odysseus Holdings Limited, and is expected to close by Q4 2025. The move positions CoinShares among the world’s largest publicly listed crypto asset managers, with $10 billion in AUM.
Already trading on Nasdaq Stockholm and OTCQX, CoinShares sees the U.S. listing as a gateway to the world’s largest asset management market.
CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti called the US “the crucible of the digital asset space” and said the transition accelerates their global leadership ambitions.
CoinShares ranks fourth globally for crypto ETPs and leads in EMEA with a 34% share. The firm has more than tripled AUM in two years, driven by new product launches, pricing tailwinds, and strong inflows.
With 32 products now spanning ETPs, indices, and digital asset equities, CoinShares is betting on U.S. demand for tokenization and blockchain-based financial tools.
In July, CoinShares announced its French subsidiary, CoinShares Asset Management, had received authorisation under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation.
With this latest approval, CoinShares became the first regulated asset management firm in continental Europe to be authorised under MiCA.
The MiCA authorisation adds to CoinShares’ existing regulatory approvals, making it the only asset management firm in continental Europe currently holding all three licences.
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