The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving forward with NYSE Arca’s request to list Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF and now the agency is seeking industry feedback on the application.
The Bitwise ETF is a fund that holds real Bitcoin and Ethereum and it aims to give investors “balanced exposure to the two largest crypto assets in the world in an easy-to-access format,” according to Bitwise in a Nov. 26 filing.
Meanwhile, the competition in crypto index ETF space is heating up. Analysts predict that index ETFs will be the next major focus for issuers after the success of funds holding BTC and ETH launched earlier this year.
According to Katalin Tischhauser, the head of investment research at crypto bank Sygnum “The next logical step is index ETFs because indexes are efficient for investors — just like how people buy the S&P 500 in an ETF. This will be the same in crypto.”
On Nov. 27, NYSE Arca submitted another application to list the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, which would hold a wider variety of crypto assets. It also submitted an application on Oct. 29 to list Grayscale’s proposed Digital Large Cap Fund.
Other asset managers, such as Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, have also jumped into the race with their plans for crypto index funds.