Photo credit: Pierre Borthiry/Unsplash
Digital asset management firm Hashdex plans to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to directly hold both spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on the Nasdaq exchange.
The proposed ETF is designed to track the Nasdaq Crypto United States Settlement Price Index, according to the June 18 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) via Form 19b-4. The fund would balance the crypto assets based on their respective market capitalizations, cited as 70.54% Bitcoin and 29.46% Ether on May 27.
The form further states that the proposed ETF will include cash holdings, tapping Coinbase Custody and BitGo as custodians if launched.
The plan to launch a dual BTC and ETH ETF is no surprise to analysts, who said the move “makes a lot of sense.”
“A dual Ethereum and Bitcoin ETF filing from Hashdex just dropped, quipped Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart. “Will be market cap weighted. Shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone -- makes a lot of sense,” he added.
Seyffart projects that the final deadline for the SEC approval of the proposed fund should be around the first week of March next year.
The ETF will focus on BTC and ETH, with no intention of investing in other spot assets outside of the two dominant cryptocurrencies. However, the filing acknowledges that if the Nasdaq Crypto Index adds other crypto assets, the ETF must adjust its approach.
Instead of mirroring the entire index, which would require buying and holding all the included cryptocurrencies, the ETF would shift to holding a representative sample of the index. This sample would still prioritize Bitcoin and Ether in the same proportions dictated by the index, but it would not include any of the newly added cryptocurrencies. This change would likely require filing an amendment with the SEC to outline the modified investment strategy.
Crypto assets can be added to the Index if they meet certain criteria, including being listed on a US-regulated exchange or serving as the underlying asset for a US-regulated derivative product. The index is updated quarterly to reflect changes in the crypto asset markets.
Hashdex’s move follows the SEC approval of the 19b-forms for a slew of spot Ether ETFs in May. The regulator would need to greenlight the ETP issuers’ respective S-1 registration statements before trading can begin.
Hashdex was among the ETP issuers hopeful of getting approval to create an ETH ETF but later withdrew its proposal.
Read more: BlackRock files amended S-1 document necessary for ETH ETF launch