CoinShares went public on Nasdaq via SPAC merger, valued at $1.2B, while Franklin Templeton plans to launch a crypto division.
CoinShares, a prominent investment firm in the digital asset space, officially launched on the Nasdaq on April 1 following a merger with Vine Hill Capital Investment Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The merger established CoinShares with a valuation of $1.2 billion, and its shares are traded under the ticker symbol CSHR.
The newly formed holding company, CoinShares PLC, will oversee CoinShares International Limited. Initially priced at $9 per share, CSHR has seen a slight decrease, trading at $8.50 shortly after its debut.
With approximately $6 billion in assets under management, CoinShares specializes in exchange-traded cryptocurrency products and offers institutional investment services designed to generate fee income. The company anticipates that its presence on Nasdaq will facilitate the growth of its product offerings and improve access to analytical resources as cryptocurrencies increasingly merge with traditional finance.
“The listing is not just a change of venue. It reflects our growth from a pure ETP provider to a diversified manager specializing in digital assets,” stated co-founder and CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti.
CoinShares previously went public in Europe in 2021 on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
Franklin Templeton to Establish Crypto Division
In a separate development, financial behemoth Franklin Templeton, which manages $1.7 trillion in assets, is set to launch a new crypto division named Franklin Crypto. This move follows its agreement to acquire 250 Digital, a subsidiary of CoinFund, although the financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
The new division will target pension and sovereign funds, as well as institutional investors. Sandy Cole, head of Franklin Crypto, remarked that the current downturn in the crypto market presents a unique opportunity, suggesting that many investors will seek to create a more stable trading platform.
Franklin Templeton, which has been active in the crypto sector since 2018, currently operates a digital asset team of around 50 employees and offers tokenized funds alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Notably, in March 2026, the firm merged with Ondo Finance to transition its ETFs to the blockchain.
