Markets Never Close: The Case for Tokenized ETPs | Alex Pollak | 21Shares [EP. 308]

Markets don't close when the exchange does. They just move somewhere else.

In this episode of MoneyNeverSleeps, Pete Townsend speaks with Alex Pollak of 21Shares about why crypto ETPs are not just surviving the rise of onchain finance — they're about to become part of it.

Alex Pollak is Managing Director and Head of UK and New Markets at 21Shares, which provides the largest suite of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products in the world. Drawing on over 20 years in the ETF and ETP industry, Alex explains why the wrapper that made crypto accessible to institutions is now evolving into something programmable, tokenized, and potentially tradeable around the clock.

Across crypto, fintech, and traditional finance, the conversation around tokenized assets and 24/7 markets is moving from theory toward product reality. Exchanges, brokers, and issuers are beginning to ask what happens when the underlying assets never sleep but the fund structure still does.

Rather than being displaced by direct crypto ownership or onchain alternatives, ETPs may be about to get smarter — evolving from simple access vehicles into programmable baskets that operate inside a financial system that no longer has opening hours.

This isn't a crypto-versus-TradFi conversation. It's a discussion about financial infrastructure, total cost of ownership, and how one of the most successful product innovations in market history is quietly reinventing itself.

We cover

• Why buying crypto directly isn't always cheaper than using an ETP
• How total cost of ownership changes the calculation for institutional investors
• Why basket products are the next frontier — and what's holding them back
• How regulators in the US, UK, and Europe are shaping the pace of innovation
• Why 21Shares wants to tokenize its own ETPs
• What a 24/7 tradeable ETP actually looks like in practice
• Why the long runway for crypto ETPs is just beginning

Alex brings a perspective shaped by two decades of watching skepticism turn into a multi-trillion dollar industry — and sees the same pattern emerging in crypto ETPs today.

If you're a founder, operator, or investor trying to understand how traditional financial products and onchain systems are beginning to converge, this episode offers a clear-eyed view of where things are heading.

00:00 Markets never close: the cold open

00:30 Intro and guest welcome

01:00 How investors access crypto today

02:30 ETPs vs direct ownership: who uses what

03:30 Total cost of ownership and the spread argument

04:30 How ETP spreads have tightened over time

05:00 From single asset to basket products

06:00 What regulators in the UK, US and Europe are allowing

07:00 The dream: funds as smart contracts

08:00 Tokenizing ETPs and the 24/7 market problem

09:30 Technology ahead of regulation

10:30 The long runway for crypto ETPs

11:00 Closing thoughts and where to find 21Shares

MoneyNeverSleeps explores one big idea each week in under 15 minutes with founders, operators, and investors shaping crypto, fintech, AI, and onchain finance.

If you're interested in where financial infrastructure is heading — from tokenized assets and crypto ETPs to programmable markets and onchain settlement — subscribe and join the conversation.

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