ARK Invest, the asset management firm led by Cathie Wood, has filed with US regulators to launch two new cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that would track the CoinDesk 20 – a benchmark of the most liquid digital assets including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Cardano.
Rather than directly holding cryptocurrencies, the proposed ETFs would rely on regulated, cash-settled futures contracts to mimic the daily performance of the index.
While one fund will track the CoinDesk 20, the other will track that index, but exclude bitcoin by combining long index futures with short bitcoin futures.
Both products are designed to provide investors with diversified access to crypto assets without the complexities of custody or direct ownership of tokens. The funds would be listed on NYSE Arca, although the exchange has yet to submit a Form 19b-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a key step to formalize the filings and begin the approval process.
The ARK filings follow similar efforts by asset managers WisdomTree and ProShares, which have also offered crypto index ETFs using regulated futures contracts. None of the filings have yet been approved for trading, leaving a gap in the market for diversified crypto exposure via ETFs.
Although ARK has already made headlines with its involvement in spot Bitcoin ETFs, these latest products signal a move toward broader coverage of the crypto market.
