Titan T. Rowe Price Joins Crypto ETF ‘Land Rush’ With Fund Tracking Top Digital Assets

T. Rowe Price, a fund management titan with almost $1.8 trillion in assets under management, has filed to launch a crypto ETF (exchange-traded fund) to invest in a basket of leading cryptos.

According to the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF will be an actively-managed product that will invest in a “diversified basket of commodity crypto assets” with the aim of outperforming the FTSE Crypto US Listed Index.

”Can’t overstate significance of T. Rowe Price filing for an actively managed crypto ETF out of left field,” said Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth President. ”T. Rowe is the quintessential legacy asset manager, founded in 1937.”

It will invest in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Litecoin (LTC), Polkadot (DOT), Dogecoin (DOGE), Hedera (HBAR), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Chainlink (LINK), Stellar Lumen (XLM), and Shiba Inu (SHIB).

T. Rowe Price did not specify a management fee for the product, and the fund remains subject to regulatory approval.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the move by the giant TradFi fund manager was a ”semi-shock,” but predicted there will be a ”land rush” for funds targeting diversified baskets of leading cryptos.

T. Rowe Price Joins BlackRock, Fidelity In Taking Crypto Mainstream

T. Rowe Price’s move into crypto ETFs follows similar moves made by asset management giants including BlackRock and Fidelity. 

BlackRock’s US spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has been the best-performing BTC ETF in the market since US regulators gave the products the greenlight last year. Data from Farside Investors shows that IBIT has seen $65.165 billion in cumulative inflows since its launch.

IBIT’s net assets stand at over $86.838 billion, according to the product’s web page. 

US spot BTC ETF flows (Source: Farside Investors)

Crypto ETFs Delayed By Ongoing Government Shutdown

The US government shutdown is currently holding up approvals of crypto ETFs, with the backlog growing to around 155 applications. Products for SOL and XRP lead the queue.

There are multiple products linked to the top 10 cryptos by market cap, as well smaller tokens including meme coins such as Official Trump (TRUMP) and Melania (MELANIA), which were launched by US President Donald Trump’s team. 

There has been no indication of when exactly the government shutdown will end, but traders on the decentralized betting platform Polymarket see a 40% chance that it will continue past Nov. 16.  

SEC Approves Generic Listing Rules For Crypto ETFs

T. Rowe Price’s filing comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved generic listing standards for crypto ETFs in September. 

Under the new framework, major exchanges such as Nasdaq, Cboe BZX Exchange and NYSE Arca can list qualifying commodity-based trust shares without having to first submit individual proposed rule changes under Section 19(b) of the Exchange Act.

The approved generic listing standards for crypto ETFs will streamline the process for eligible products to enter the market. As such, analysts have predicted a wave of new crypto ETF products will launch soon.