Wisdom Tree, an asset manager, launched three physically backed crypto – mainly Solana, Cardano, and Polkadot – ETPs. It began trading on exchanges in Germany and Switzerland on Tuesday. The crypto exchange-traded products are also available in Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam. The three ETPs carry an expense ratio of 95 basis points.
Jason Guthrie, head of digital assets for Europe at Wisdom Tree, highlighted that there is an increasing appetite for an ever-expanding product set. He said the loudest message from investors is the ability for people to respond to market situations, adjust their portfolios, and have a more robust toolkit.
With the addition of the three new ETPs, Wisdom Tree now offers eight crypto exchange-traded products. It includes Bitcoin and Ethereum products. The firm had launched Crypto Altcoins (WALT), Crypto Market (BLOC), and Crypto Mega Cap Equal Weight (MEGA) ETPs in November 2021. These products were designed to offer blended exposure to blue-chip coins, DeFi payments, and NFTs, as well as smart contracts.
Alexis Marinof, head of Europe at Wisdom Tree, pointed out that altcoins are now viable options for many institutional investors. It provides more options to diversify their crypto holdings as they would do with other asset classes. Guthrie said Wisdom Tree evaluates trading volumes and developer activity. The firm is backed by custodians and exchanges. Moreover, it is looking into plenty of very interesting projects. Guthrie says future exposures could come in the form of single-asset or basket products.
The executive acknowledged increasing competition in the European crypto ETP space. Guthrie described it as a balancing act to ensure that Wisdom Tree maintains a manageable product range. CoinShares launched a Physical Staked Solana ETP in Germany last week and Issuer21Shares has also introduced crypto ETPs.
