CoinShares Intl buys French fintech startup Napoleon and its social trading platform for $15.8 million

London-based digital asset investing company CoinShares International has acquired French fintech Napoleon Crypto SAS and its social trading platform for $15.8 million (about 13.9 million euros), as the booming cryptocurrency market heats up.

As part of the acquisition agreement, CoinShares said on Wednesday that Napoleon’s employees will become part of the CoinShares family of companies, leveraging CoinShares’ technology, market infrastructure, and market presence to further accelerate platform growth with a strong focus on self-directed investors.

The acquisition is part of the company’s strategy to expand its technology and platforms, and also expand into a new consumer market segment. The acquisition is expected to complete in the second week of December. Upon completion, all of Napoleon’s team and assets will become part of CoinShares, and benefit from the scale and size of CoinShares’ broader outreach.

Napoleon was founded four years ago. The Paris, France-based fintech startup enables self-directed investors to expand their crypto investing experience by offering a suite of pre-built portfolios and strategies that cater to different investment objectives. The platform is seamlessly integrated with crypto exchanges like Binance, Bitfinex, Bitmex, FTX, and Bitstamp, and is non-custodial, meaning users retain complete control over their funds while deploying algorithmic strategies and allocation models.

Since its inception in 2017, Napoleon has established a strong foothold among the French investment community and has been looking to expand globally its consumer platform.

In a statement, CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said, “Crypto is about community, and over the last seven years, CoinShares has built a fantastic one. As we continue to grow, it is increasingly important for us to keep developing our ability to distribute our research, expertise, and products directly to our clients via the most appropriate channel.”

She added, “Today, Napoleon offers crypto exchange clients the capabilities to hook their exchange account to our platform of thematic algorithmic trading strategies and baskets designed to offer better risk adjusted return based on customer selected risk profile. Scaling this platform, and its attached services is the perfect way to kick start a new and exciting consumer-focused growth chapter for CoinShares.”

Founded in 2015 by Russ Newton, the London, England-basedCoinShares is Europe’s largest and longest-standing digital asset investment firm, managing billions of dollars of assets on behalf of its client base. The Group is focused on expanding investor access to the digital asset ecosystem by pioneering new financial products and services that seek to provide trust and transparency when accessing this new asset class.