Asset manager Hashdex has submitted an amended registration filing for a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed as a one-stop-shop cryptocurrency portfolio, according to an Oct. 1 regulatory filing.
The filing indicates continued progress for the crypto index ETF with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission after the agency asked for more time to reach a decision on whether to authorize the fund for trading in August.
The Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF will initially comprise Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) — the only assets currently included in the Nasdaq Crypto US Index — but may eventually expand to include additional digital currencies, the filing said.
The Nasdaq Crypto US Index only tracks Bitcoin and Ether. Source: Nasdaq
Related: Propelled by crypto inflows, US ETF assets hit record $10 trillion
Industry analysts say crypto index ETFs are the next big focus for issuers after ETFs holding BTC and ETH listed in January and July, respectively.
“The next logical step is index ETFs because indices are efficient for investors — just like how people buy the S&P 500 in an ETF. This will be the same in crypto,” Katalin Tischhauser, head of investment research at crypto bank Sygnum, told Cointelegraph in August.
Asset manager Franklin Templeton is seeking to launch a similar crypto index ETF, according to an Aug. 16 filing.
The Franklin Crypto Index ETF will track the performance of the CF Institutional Digital Asset Index, which — like the Nasdaq Crypto US Index — currently only comprises BTC and ETH.
Tischhauser said that crypto index ETFs are currently limited to BTC and ETH because those are the only assets the SEC has authorized to be included in ETFs so far.
“They intend it to be an index, and as long as only Bitcoin and Ethereum are approved, that’s what it will consist of,” Tischhauser said. She added that demand is limited for new types of single-asset ETFs, such as a Solana (SOL) fund.
Top ETF launches in 2024. Source: The ETF Store
Total assets in US ETFs surpassed $10 trillion for the first time on Sept. 27, propelled in part by inflows of more than $20 billion into cryptocurrency ETFs in 2024, according to data from Bloomberg Intelligence and fund researcher Morningstar.
Crypto ETFs accounted for 13 of the 25 largest ETF launches in 2024 by inflows tracked through the end of August, according to Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store — an investment adviser specializing in ETFs.
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