On Thursday (April ), Switzerland-based 21Shares, which is which is considered one of the pioneers in issuing crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), launched an investment product for The Sandbox ($SAND).

21Shares was “founded in 2018 by Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder with the principal objective of making crypto safe and accessible for all investors.” Since then, it has “experienced significant growth, leveraging the expertise of the team to stay at the forefront of market developments and to continue providing investors with innovative crypto ETPs, broad token solutions and forward-thinking investment options.”

On March 25, ETF Express announced the winners of the ETF Express European European Awards 2022, an 21Shares was named the winner in the “Best Crypto Issuer” category.

What Is The Sandbox?

The Sandbox is a subsidiary of Animoca Brands. Animoca Brands, which was founded in January 2014 by Yat Siu and David Kim, and its various subsidiaries “develop and publish a broad portfolio of blockchain games, traditional games, and other products, many of which are based on popular global brands, such as Formula 1®, Disney, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Doraemon. Animoca Brands is also a prolific investor with over 100 investments in NFT-related blockchain companies, including Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity), Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), OpenSea, Harmony, Bitski, and Alien Worlds.”

Here is how Binance Research described The Sandbox back in August 2020:

“The Sandbox is a virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain, where players can build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences… The SAND token is an ERC-20 utility token that is used for value transfers as well as staking and governance… Players can create digital assets in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), upload them to the marketplace, and integrate into games with Game Maker.“

And here is the how The Sandbox team describes SAND and LAND:

“SAND is the utility token used throughout The Sandbox ecosystem as the basis for transactions and interactions. It is an ERC-20 utility token built on the Ethereum blockchain. There is a finite supply of 3,000,000,000 SAND...

“The Sandbox Metaverse is made up of LANDS, that are parts of the world, owned by players to create and monetize experiences. There will only ever be 166,464 LANDS available, which can be used to host games, build multiplayer experiences, create housing, or offer social experiences to the community.“

What Are ETPs?

ETPs are “collateralized, non-interest paying debt securities designed to replicate the performance of an underlying asset and in the case of 21Shares’s ETPs, its products “replicate the performance of the crypto asset (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash) or the index it tracks (HODL5, BIT10, ABBA).”

Here is how 21Shares explains the difference between ETPs and ETFs:

“Although ETPs are structured and operate very similarly to traditional Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), the primary difference between the two is that ETPs are debt securities issued by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) instead.“

21Shares Launches a $SAND ETP

According to a press release shared with CryptoGlobe, the new ETP — called 21Shares The Sandbox ETP (Ticker: SAND) — “marks the 30th cryptocurrency ETP offered by 21Shares,” and will be “cross-listed on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam.” 21Shares says that it “offers the most extensive crypto product suite of any issuer worldwide, in CHF, EUR, GBP and USD, across Europe.”

Hany Rashwan, CEO and co-founder of 21Shares, had this to say:

“The launch of our 30th product is an important milestone in our history as an innovator in the crypto industry. It is testament to the quality of the team we have built, and our position at the forefront of the acceleration of the global blockchain movement, that we have achieved this growth in scale in four years. We are committed to making crypto accessible for everyone and continuing to offer best-in-class products to our investors is true to that vision. This is just the beginning.“

Here are some product details:

  • VALOR: 117736100
  • ISIN: CH1177361008
  • Bloomberg: SAND BW
  • Fee: 2.5%
  • Custody: Coinbase
  • Market Maker: Lang & Schwarz

HSBC Joins The Sandbox Metaverse

On March 16, financial services giant HSBC and Ethereum-powered play-to-earn (P2E) game The Sandbox announced “a new partnership that will open up a host of opportunities for virtual communities across the world to engage with global financial services providers and sports communities in The Sandbox metaverse.”

According to a blog post published by The Sandbox team on March 15, this partnership will “see the global financial services provider acquire a plot of LAND, virtual real estate in The Sandbox metaverse, which will be developed to engage and connect with sports, esports and gaming enthusiasts.”

Suresh Balaji, Chief Marketing Officer, Asia-Pacific, HSBC, had this to say:

“The metaverse is how people will experience Web3, the next generation of the Internet — using immersive technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and extended reality. At HSBC, we see great potential to create new experiences through emerging platforms, opening up a world of opportunity for our current and future customers and for the communities we serve.

“Through our partnership with The Sandbox we are making our foray into the metaverse, allowing us to create innovative brand experiences for new and existing customers. We’re excited to be working with our sports partners, brand ambassadors, and Animoca Brands to co-create experiences that are educational, inclusive and accessible.“

And Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-founder of The Sandbox, said:

“We’re pleased to see large, trusted institutions such as HSBC join The Sandbox open metaverse and embrace the culture of Web3, connecting with users through entertainment, gaming and user-generated content. We believe this is the beginning of a broader adoption of Web3 and the metaverse by institutions driving brand experiences and engagement within this new ecosystem.“

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.