Wall Street heavyweight T. Rowe Price, which boasts a staggering$7 trillion in assets under management, has entered the cryptocurrency ETF market with the launch of its first actively managed multi-token fund.
The much-anticipated product provides exposure to Bitcoin as well as to altcoins such as Ethereum and XRP.
The new ETF began trading on Thursday under the TKNZ ticker, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
The launch is particularly noteworthy given T. Rowe Price's long history as an active stock manager dating back to before World War II.
The fund debuted with approximately $15 million in assets with a 0.75% management fee.
Balchunas opined earlier this week that T. Rowe Price appeared to be waiting until the recent crypto market selloff had subsided before bringing the product to market.
Yet another giant embracing crypto
T. Rowe Price is one of the world's largest asset managers, which makes the recent launch particularly significant. The Baltimore-based financial institution oversees retirement savings, pension assets, mutual funds, and institutional portfolios for millions of investors around the globe.
The financial titan has spent decades building its stellar reputation, so its entry into the crypto space is yet another sign of crypto reaching broad mainstream acceptance.
The firm's arrival also follows similar moves by other Wall Street firms, such as BlackRock and Fidelity.
Long before launching a crypto ETF, T. Rowe Price was investing indirectly in the sector through private markets.
The firm participated in funding rounds for major crypto companies, including Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and Bullish, the digital asset exchange backed by Block.one. It also held stakes in Coinbase around the time of the exchange's public listing through various growth-oriented funds.
Solana and XRP are among the fund's top holdings
Bitcoin remains the largest holding with a 40.75% weighting. Ethereum accounts for 18.42%, followed by BNB at 11.01%.
Solana represents 9.44% of assets, narrowly ahead of XRP, which makes up 9.37% of the portfolio.
The remaining allocations include Hyperliquid (HYPE) with 6.45%, Stellar (XLM) with 3.00%, Dogecoin (DOGE) with 1.28%, and USD Coin (USDC) with 0.16%.
Balchunas noted that the ETF is "underweight Bitcoin and overweight most of the rest, especially HYPE."
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
