Today, crypto ETF issuer 21Shares announced it has integrated Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR) to boost the transparency of bitcoin reserves backing the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB).
PoR leverages Chainlink’s industry-standard decentralized oracle infrastructure to provide near-real-time onchain updates for reserves backing digital assets. By providing superior transparency and reliability compared to annual statutory audits, interim audits, and monthly proof of reserves, PoR creates a new standard for digital assets, decentralized exchanges, and crypto ETFs (exchange-traded funds).
21Shares US LLC and ARK Investment Management LLC (ARK) launched ARKB last month, after U.S. regulators approved spot bitcoin ETFs in what industry leaders including Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov called a watershed moment for crypto.
An ETF is an investment fund that tracks the performance of an underlying asset as a means for investors to access the value of an asset without directly owning it. As a leading spot bitcoin ETF with over $1.58 billion in net assets, ARKB gives investors regulated access to the world’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency without having to trade or store it themselves.
PoR boosts investor confidence in ARKB by making its underlying bitcoin reserve and reserve history publicly available. The ARKB PoR offchain reserve feed pulls reserve data directly from Coinbase, which directly accesses accounts or vaults holding reserve assets, calculates the total value of reserves, and reports the data onchain via Chainlink oracles.
As the industry-leading decentralized computing platform, Chainlink has securely delivered over 11.8 billion data points and enabled more than $9.7 trillion in transaction value onchain while providing a comprehensive set of services that are critical for creating and securing digital assets and scaling onchain finance to billions of global users.
In an official announcement, 21Shares US president and co-founder Ophelia Snyder underscored PoR’s essential role in taking digital asset adoption to the next level.
“By integrating Chainlink, the industry leader in Proof of Reserves for tokenized assets, we’re setting a new standard for combining transparency and security in digital asset management,” she said. “This collaboration allows us to offer an unmatched level of insight and safety for our investors’ holdings for ARKB, reinforcing 21Shares’ commitment to leading the way in secure, transparent asset management.”
“We’re excited to collaborate with 21Shares as they help to reimagine the way that the world interacts with tokenized assets and scale accessibility to the masses,” said Chainlink Labs Chief Business Officer Johann Eid. “By providing real-time, tamper-proof data on Bitcoin reserves, Chainlink Proof of Reserve is not just enhancing the security and transparency of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, but also empowering institutions and market participants with the confidence to actively engage with onchain finance.”