United States regulators are soliciting comments on securities exchange NYSE Arca’s request to list a Bitwise exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), according to a Dec. 10 filing.
On Nov. 26, Bitwise and NYSE submitted filings to list the ETF to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Now, the SEC is advancing the application to the next stage by soliciting comments from the industry, the filing said.
The Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF is a proposed spot cryptocurrency index fund comprising BTC and ETH. It aims to “give investors balanced exposure to the two largest crypto assets in the world in an easy-to-access format,” the asset manager said in a Nov. 26 post on the X platform.
Source: Bitwise
Mounting competition
Industry analysts say crypto index ETFs are the next big focus for issuers after funds holding BTC and ETH listed in January and July, respectively.
“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,” Katalin Tischhauser, head of investment research at crypto bank Sygnum, told Cointelegraph in August.
On Nov. 27, NYSE filed to list another Bitwise index ETF called Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, which would eventually hold a broader basket of crypto assets.
In an Oct. 29 filing, NYSE Arca asked the SEC for permission to list a proposed Grayscale index ETF called Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund.
Other proposed crypto index funds, including those from asset managers Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, add to the competition.
Source: Gary Gensler
Crypto-friendly US leadership
US President-elect Donald Trump — who has promised to turn the US into the “world’s crypto capital” — is tapping crypto-friendly leaders to head financial regulators when he begins his presidential term on Jan. 20, 2025.
In November, SEC Chair Gary Gensler, known for his hardline stance on cryptocurrency regulation, said he would depart from the agency the day Trump begins his presidential term.
Under Gensler’s tenure, which started in 2021, the SEC took an aggressive regulatory stance toward crypto, bringing upward of 100 regulatory actions against industry companies.
Now, with Trump in charge, issuers are seeking to list a variety of proposed crypto funds, including index ETFs and ETFs offering staking.
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