Major European digital asset manager CoinShares is finalizing the acquisition of the French fintech firm Napoleon Group despite the ongoing market decline.

CoinShares announced on July 4 that the firm has acquired Napoleon Asset Management, a digital asset management subsidiary of Napoleon Group.

CoinShares previously entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire the entire issued share capital in Napoleon Crypto SAS for 13.9 million euros ($14.5 million) in November 2021.

The latest acquisition came shortly after the French financial regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), authorized the acquisition of Napoleon AM on June 28. CoinShares subsequently proceeded with the transaction pursuant to the terms set out in the group SPA on June 2022.

Paris-based Napoleon AM was launched after completing an initial coin offering (ICO) in late 2018, raising over $10 million through the sale of NPX tokens. The firm has received the alternative investment fund manager (AIFM) license and became one of the first European asset managers to be financed by an ICO and incorporated under French law.

In late 2019, Napoleon AM launched a regulated Bitcoin 

BTC

$17,201

 fund, the Napoleon Bitcoin Fund.

The acquisition of Napoleon AM allows CoinShares to offer AIFM-compliant products and services in addition to being a major issuer of crypto exchange-traded products in Europe. The license enables the firm to provide market services across the European Union, expanding CoinShares’ products with algorithmic trading and artificial intelligence tools developed by Napoleon AM.

The transaction is yet another piece of evidence that CoinShares continues scaling despite the ongoing market decline, CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti told Cointelegraph, stating:

“CoinShares continues to grow despite market conditions. The bear market is an opportunity to solidify positions and build new products and services.”

According to the CEO, having an AIFM-regulated entity in CoinShares’ group is important because it’s “one of the most demanding licenses.”

Related: BlockFi announces deal with FTX US, including 'option to acquire' for $240M

“CoinShares has always been at the forefront of regulation, it is a strong advocate of regulation in the digital asset industry and has an extensive list of regulated products and services,” Mognetti added.