WisdomTree’s Ethereum and Stellar-based fund approved

• The SEC’s approval did come a few months after the fund manager released its first digital finance product, the WisdomTree Short-Term Treasury Digital Fund (WTSYX), in September.
• Like Grayscale Investments, WisdomTree has been pushing for the SEC to approve its exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal since last year, but the financial regulator is yet to approve it.

WisdomTree is the latest crypto fund manager to get the nod of approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to reports, the regulator has approved WisdomTree’s nine blockchain-based investment funds for the United States market. Per the official announcement from the fund manager, the latest digital financial product will reflect different exposures, each connecting to traditional asset investments but will not track crypto assets.

However, WisdomTree seeks to utilize the Stellar or Ethereum protocol to reflect its secondary share ownership. But the official ownership accounts will be managed by the digital fund’s transfer entities. Furthermore, the asset management platform wants to introduce fixed income alongside equities and commodities to the digital ecosystem via exposure to different assets and investment products.

Creating A Better Fund Management Experience

Speaking further, Will Peck, the head of digital assets at WisdomTree, noted that the new offering would show the type of experience the fund manager will provide to its users by incorporating traditional assets into the crypto asset ecosystem. Peck stated,

WisdomTree believes that blockchain-based finance will further improve investors’ experiences by increasing liquidity, standards, and transparency, which the company aims to achieve in the future. The nine digital funds will set the drive to help WisdomTree bridge the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and digital finance.”

Meanwhile, the SEC’s approval comes a few months after the fund manager released its first digital finance product, the WisdomTree Short-Term Treasury Digital Fund (WTSYX). WisdomTree launched the WTSYX in September. The company also unveiled its short-term Treasury digital fund after SEC approval.

Commenting on the latest development, the chief operating officer (COO) of WisdomTree, Jarrett Lillian, noted that despite cryptocurrency’s popularity, the real opportunity lies with the blockchain-based financial model.

WisdomTree Eyes ETF Approval

In a similar move to Grayscale Investments, WisdomTree has been pushing for the SEC to approve its exchange-traded fund (ETF) bid to offer Bitcoin exposure to institutional investors. Both firms have filed for consent from the regulator since early last year.

As expected, the SEC has rejected the firm’s applications numerous times, just like it did others. The regulator cited concerns over fraud and market manipulation in the Bitcoin spot ETF market. Many other platforms have filed for ETF services, but the SEC has yet to grant any.

The clamor for a Bitcoin spot ETF has been rising since the start of 2021, with advocates stating that the product can be purchased, sold, and traded on mainstream stock exchanges instead of crypto trading platforms. In addition, ETFs are reliable ways to provide mainstream investors exposure to Bitcoin through familiar regulated platforms.

Despite the positive development, the price of both XLM and ETH are yet to react. At the time of writing, XLM trades at $0.07658 and is up by 0.28%. Likewise, ETH is trading at $1,185 with a 0.23% rise, as revealed by current CoinMarketCap data.