On October 12, 21.co, a provider of crypto investment products, announced that its subsidiary, 21Shares AG, has launched a bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) on Nasdaq Dubai.

As a result, it makes it the first physically-backed bitcoin ETP in the Middle East.

Furthermore, the launch comes after a $25 million investment round headed by the hedge fund Marshall Wace last month, valuing 21.co at about $2 billion. 

You should note that 21.co CEO Hany Rashwan has previously said the business strives to have all of its products, including single-asset crypto ETPs and indexes, available in “every single geography.”

A statement released by 21.co says that the 21Shares Bitcoin ETP will trade under the ticker ABTC in the same way as the 21Shares Bitcoin ETP in Europe. 

With this Dubai launch, 21.co now has 46 listed 21Shares products across seven countries.

Last week, Chainalysis, an on-chain analytics platform, released a report saying that the Middle East and North Africa, or the MENA region, is the world’s fastest-growing crypto market, with the volume of crypto received increasing by 48% in the year to June.