One U.S. money manager is looking to tap into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – one of the hot trends on the blockchain – as approval for a conventional cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) is still nowhere in sight.
Defiance ETFs’ Defiance Digital Revolution ETF (ticker NFTZ) is launching on Thursday and will track blockchain-related firms and the NFT index.
The company will not invest in any cryptocurrencies directly, but it is one of the first ETFs to tap the booming market for NFTs.
The gauge will track firms that have exposure to the crypto industry.
The closest regulators have come to approving a fund that invests in cryptocurrencies was when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allowed an ETF that holds Bitcoin futures to begin trading in October.
Blockchain thematic ETFs have proliferated while the SEC rejected numerous applications for a spot ETF over the last several years.
Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer for Defiance ETFs, said that the NFTZ fund “is a great way for investors to gain access to not only the fast-growth blockchain technology aspect of the digital world but companies involved in the renaissance of NFTs”.
The fund carries a management fee of 0.65%, meaning $6.50 for every $1,000 invested. Its top positions are in Silvergate Capital Corp, Cloudflare, Inc, Bitfarms Ltd, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc, Hut 8 Mining Corp, and Coinbase Global Inc.
Although NFTs were introduced a few years ago, they really caught fire this year amid a wider boom in crypto markets.
NFTs allow holders of art, collectables and just about any other asset to track ownership.
According to nonfungible.com, the company website listed roughly 766,000 sales over the past month, with some $1.8 billion spent overall.
“NFTs today are what Bitcoin was 10 years ago, except that there is a robust community made up of creators and investors who co-exist to determine the future path of a non-fungible token,” said Jablonski.
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