21Shares AG (“21Shares”), the world’s largest issuer of cryptocurrency ETPs, today announced the appointment of three new senior sales leaders to extend its U.S. footprint amidst growing investor appetite for crypto solutions.

Kayle Watson, the new U.S. Head of Sales, is joined by other strategic new hires Aram Babikian, U.S. Head of West Coast and Latin America Business Development, and Ches Snider, U.S. Head of Research Sales. The standout team brings decades of experience from top financial services firms including BlackRock, Guggenheim Securities, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, and more.

In his new leadership role, Kayle is responsible for developing a sales distribution plan and building the teams for the institutional and retail investing landscape across North America. He spent the last eight years as a senior member of BlackRock's iShares ETF business, where he was responsible for driving institutional acceptance and use of ETFs. Previously, he worked at Guggenheim Securities and Bear Stearns. Prior to the financial services industry, Kayle served as a U.S. Naval Officer for nearly a decade including time as a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs.

Aram will focus on developing 21Shares’ market share in the U.S. West Coast and Latin America. As an accomplished financial services professional, Aram brings 16+ years of experience in business development, sales, partner success, trading and portfolio management, product development, and operations. Most recently Aram held senior sales and portfolio management roles at Direxion, with an emphasis on ETF solutions. Prior to Direxion, Aram worked for Goldman Sachs.

Ches, a CFA, will manage U.S. research and sales distribution for institutional and retail investment channels. For the past 8 years, Ches marketed and distributed for Harborside Group with a focus on mutual funds and separately managed account sales across the U.S. market, which included the wirehouse, regional, independent, and registered investment advisor (RIA) channels. Prior to that, he distributed idea-driven equity research to long-only, institutional asset managers and long-short hedge funds for 10 years. He began his career in finance as a listed equity block trader for Bear Stearns, and previously served in the U.S. Navy.

Hany Rashwan, CEO and co-founder of 21Shares said, “Our new U.S. sales team strengthens our ability to serve as a bridge for investors into the crypto market, as more people globally seek exposure to crypto.”

In addition to the U.S. sales team’s growth, this year 21Shares is adding 100-200 employees in mission-critical areas of institutional investing, digital assets, research, and more.

As of January 2022, 21Shares manages more than $2+ billion in 26 cryptocurrency ETPs and 100+ listings, including the world’s only ETPs tracking Binance, 4 Crypto Index Baskets, and two ETPs with investor staking rewards (Tezos and Solana). Its products are listed on 10 regulated European and Swiss trading exchanges.