ARK Invest, 21Shares Up Transparency With Chainlink Integration For Bitcoin ETF

Asset managers ARK Invest and 21Shares will disclose their spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reserves by integrating the Proof of Reserve platform of Chainlink, a decentralized blockchain oracle network on Ethereum, to enhance transparency, the companies announced Wednesday.

"21Shares has integrated @Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR) on Ethereum to increase the transparency of ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF's (ARKB) reserves with @ARKInvest," 21Shares said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday.

The integration is expected to ensure that investors have "real-time visibility" into the BTC reserves backing ARKB. It also looks to revolutionize transparency and security standards in the digital assets industry.

"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 Johann Eid, Chainlink Labs' chief business officer, as per a press release.

Ophelia Snyder, 21Shares U.S. co-founder and president, said the collaboration is expected to bring an "unmatched level of insight and safety" for the ARKB holdings of investors.

The asset managers are only the second spot Bitcoin ETFs issuer to disclose their reserves following Bitwise's move in January to disclose its digital wallet address that reveals its holdings for the Bitwise BTC ETF.

Bitwise's disclosure gained widespread applause from the cryptocurrency sector and industry watchers who have been urging crypto firms to display more commitment toward transparency and investor security following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Hours after its disclosure announcement, 21Shares crossed the $3 billion-mark in Assets Under Management (AUM) in Europe. "This milestone isn't just ours; it's a testament to our shared vision of expanding access to digital assets and empowering investors in the EU to succeed in the evolving digital asset landscape," it said.

Meanwhile, ARK continues to be optimistic of Bitcoin, especially after the SEC's approval of spot BTC ETFs.

Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK, predicted last month that Bitcoin will hit a trading value of $1 million per token in the coming years. She went on to predict that the world's leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization could even make significant inroads into the gold market as BTC has become an alternative to fiat currencies. "Bitcoin is the equivalent of digital gold; gold is an A1 trillion doll asset out there we do believe that Bitcoin will get a nice slug at that," she said.