While most in the cryptocurrency community are looking forward to a Bitcoin ETF, independent investment management company Invesco, which has over $800 billion in assets under management, has announced the launch of the ‘world’s biggest blockchain-focused ETF.
According to ZeroHedge, the blockchain-focused exchange-traded fund will include upon launch a portfolio of 48 different companies with exposer to blockchain technology.
Some given examples were that of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which supplies cryptocurrency mining machine manufacturers with chips, and the CME Group, the first regulated US exchange to launch bitcoin futures. It’ll have a 65 basis points management fee, and include other firms like Apple, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
The head of ETF equity product management of Invesco in Europe, Chris Mellor, reportedly stated the potential for “blockchain to boost earnings was often not reflected in the share prices of companies such as Rio Tinto, the mining company that owns hydroelectric assets that could be harnessed for cryptocurrency mining. The report reads:
The ETF will initially invest in a portfolio of 48 companies based on a proprietary scoring system developed by Elwood Asset Management, a specialist crypto investment boutique backed by Alan Howard, co-founder of the Brevan Howard hedge fund.
The CEO of Elwood, Bin Ren, noted potential applications for blockchain technology go beyond cryptocurrencies, as per his words we’re “beginning to see the technology being used by financial services companies in particular, but we expect greater application of blockchain technology across a wide range of industries.”
There are other blockchain-focused ETFs on the market, although most have attracted a relatively small amount of capital. Per ZeroHdge the largest one, Amplify Transformation Data Sharing ETF, has $110 million in assets.
Notably investors have shown interest in Wall Street firms betting on cryptocurrencies and the nascent technology behind them. A group of 14 publicly listed companies with exposure to the crypto ecosystem compiled by Yahoo Finance, as covered, was outperforming the S&P 500 earlier this year.
