American financial services company Charles Schwab has filed to launch a Crypto Economy exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The investment vehicle intends to offer exposure to investment vehicles that may benefit from the use of cryptocurrencies. The fund will put 80% of its assets into equities that are part of the Schwab Crypto Economy Index.
It is worth noting that the Crypto Economy ETF will not invest directly in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. There are already eight similar products in the U.S., but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is yet to greenlight an ETF that tracks the value of physical cryptocurrencies, shooting down a slew of proposals in recent months.
Earlier this year, Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger underscored the significance of the cryptocurrency sector in an interview with Bloomberg:
There's a tremendous void in that space today for a firm like Schwab.
At the same time, Bettinger expressed some reservations regarding the lack of regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency space, which is likely a major deterrent to offering direct crypto trading.
Alex DovbnyaLast week, Jonathan Craig, head of investor services at Charles Schwab, revealed that roughly 16% of Schwab clients had intended to invest in cryptocurrencies in the first half of 2022.
Blackrock, the leading asset manager, filed to launch a blockchain-related ETF.
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