State Street Global Advisors, a subsidiary of the third-largest ETF issuer State Street, has joined the growing trend of traditional financial institutions exploring crypto ETFs.
In a June 26 statement, the firm said it was teaming up with crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital to introduce new crypto ETFs extending beyond the flagship digital asset, Bitcoin. It stated:
“By combining the strengths of two of the biggest brands and first-movers, [we] will provide investors access to the $2.4 trillion digital asset ecosystem through manager-directed strategies.”
The firm has already filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register SSGA Active Trust, a crypto-focused fund.
As of March this year, State Street Global Advisors managed assets exceeding $4.3 trillion, while Galaxy Digital oversees approximately $6.2 billion.
SSGA
Per the SEC filing, SSGA will invest in various aspects of the crypto market, including the equity securities of crypto companies, futures ETFs, contracts, and spot crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs).
The targeted sectors encompass blockchain software developers, bitcoin miners, exchanges, and crypto payment processors.
Meanwhile, State Street Bank will manage administrative and accounting responsibilities for the new digital asset ETFs, while Galaxy will oversee their day-to-day operations.
‘Investments beyond spot Bitcoin’
State Street highlighted the growing institutional and retail interest in digital assets since the debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The firm explained that its move would seek to provide investment options beyond pure spot BTC.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz commended the move, foreseeing broader investment opportunities in the ecosystem beyond spot Bitcoin. He added:
“Expanding investment options beyond pure spot Bitcoin is where we see the next level of growth for the ecosystem.”
While market observers view this as a positive step toward affirming crypto as an asset class, Nate Geraci, President of ETF Store, expressed surprise that State Street did not prioritize spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, given their dominance in the crypto market.
Since their launch in January, the BTC ETFs now control over $50 billion in assets under management, drawing considerable interest from the broader financial world. Market experts have also predicted that the impending Ethereum ETFs could attract as much as $15 billion in inflows within their first 18 months.
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