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.
Instead of holding cryptocurrencies directly, the proposed ETFs would rely on regulated, cash-settled futures contracts to mimic the daily performance of the index.
While one fund will follow the CoinDesk 20, the other will follow that index, but will 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 token ownership. The funds would be listed on NYSE Arca, although the exchange has not yet filed a Form 19b-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a key step to make filings official and begin the approval process.
ARK’s filings follow similar efforts by asset managers WisdomTree and ProShares, who also proposed crypto index ETFs using regulated futures. None of the filings have been approved for trading yet, leaving a gap in the market for diversified crypto exposure through ETFs.
While ARK has already made headlines for its participation in spot bitcoin ETFs, these latest products indicate a push toward broader coverage of the crypto market.
