(Reuters) -21Shares on Wednesday filed for regulatory approval to launch a passive exchange-traded fund that would track the price of Hype token, a week after the company agreed to be acquired by digital
assets trading firm FalconX.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been flooded with filings for ETFs tied to cryptocurrencies, as money managers and institutions seek exposure to the rapidly growing asset class via conventional platforms.
In September, the regulator removed the last remaining hurdle to dozens of new spot ETFs tied to cryptocurrencies ranging from solana to dogecoin.
However, SEC's approval for the dozens of crypto ETF filings is still pending as the agency continues to function with skeletal staffing amid a U.S. government shutdown.
Hype, the native digital asset of the Hyperliquid network, is the eleventh largest cryptocurrency by market value, according to CoinMarketCap. The token's price has multiplied more than 15 times over the past 12 months.
Passive ETFs track a chosen index or asset's price by holding it in unchanged proportions, while active ETFs actively pick and choose investments to generate a predetermined return.
21Shares has chosen Coinbase and BitGo as the custodians for its holdings, it said in the filing.
Founded in 2018, 21shares now manages over $11 billion in assets across dozens of products.
FalconX plans to leverage 21shares' expertise in crypto ETFs and its brokerage platform to advance the adoption of digital asset investment products.
(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
