The Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States (SEC) has given the green light to nine other funds based on the blockchain of the asset manager WisdomTree, valued at USD 82,000 million.
None of these funds track crypto assets, but the firm uses the Ethereum and Stellar blockchains to maintain a secondary record of share ownership, making them “digital funds.”as described by WidsomTree.
The firm announced the SEC approval on Dec. 14, explaining that the nine digital funds offer exposure to a number of different asset classes, including stocks, commodities, and floating-rate Treasuries. The funds are expected to launch via the WisdomTree Prime mobile app in the first quarter of 2023.
“We believe that blockchain-based finance has the potential to improve the investor experience through increased liquidity, transparency and standardization, something we aim to achieve over time,” said Will Peck, Digital Asset Manager at WisdomTree.
The SEC’s latest approval comes three months after it approved the firm’s first digital fund, the WisdomTree Short-Term Treasury Digital Fund (WTSYX).
In a September 26 blog post, Peck noted that WisdomTree is looking to create a greater investor experience through digital funds and blockchain technology, particularly in relation to trading and settlement of transactions.
“To cite a few examples […] It is notable that some blockchains are able to offer almost instantaneous 24/7/365 peer-to-peer settlement. Blockchains can enable atomic settlement (in which software ensures that assets are exchanged in settlement) versus other potentially riskier settlement processes, such as delivery versus payment,” he wrote.
As of December 14, WisdomTree claimed to have about $82 billion in assets under management in its ETFs in the US and Europe.
Like Grayscale Investments, The company has also been pushing to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering exposure to the spot price of bitcoin (BTC) since early 2021.
Nevertheless, the SEC has rejected WidsomTree’s requests on multiple occasions, citing general concerns about fraud and market manipulation in the BTC trading markets.
To date, the SEC has yet to approve a spot BTC ETF.
Nevertheless, The company offers various altcoin market monitoring products and in March also launched three exchange-traded crypto products (ETPs) backed by Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) and Polkadot (DOT).
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Keep reading:
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.