Defiance ETFs has joined the increasing list of blockchain-related equity products that do not directly invest in crypto assets; however, the firm aims for the fund to focus on NFTs a little more than its competitors.
On Thursday, the Defiance Digital Revolution ETF (NFTZ) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. By investing in NFT marketplaces and issuers, the new product, which has a 65 basis point expense ratio, exposes investors to the NFT, blockchain, and cryptocurrency ecosystems.
NFTZ tracks the BITA NFT and Blockchain Select Index, and it consists of stocks of firms that are creating or establishing platforms to employ NFTs, trading platforms, mining, or banking services in the crypto area, as well as blockchain-related technology. It could also include companies who want to get involved in these areas.
Silvergate, Cloudflare, Northern Data, Bitfarms, and Playboy owner PLBY Group are the fund’s top five holdings. In October, the latter business released Playboy Rabbitars, an NFT collection.
According to ETF.com, Defiance now has eight other ETFs trading in the US with a combined asset value of roughly $1.7 billion. The Defiance Next Gen Connectivity ETF (FIVG), launched in March 2019, is the fund’s largest at $1.3 billion.
‘More powerful than the internet’
NFTs, according to Sylvia Jablonski, Defiance’s co-founder and chief investment officer, will be greater than the internet.
“NFTs are unique; they are responsible for this cultural transformation,” she explained. “Digital tokens will symbolize land ownership in the metaverse, and they are the key to all that is or will be the metaverse.”
NFTs, according to Jablonski, reward content, art, and data creators while also allowing consumers to engage in a specific project. She stated that these tokens would symbolize fashion houses like Gucci and Nike and tickets to real-world and metaverse events.
When stock prices rise, investors profit, and the firm benefits because it may utilize the funds raised to take steps to increase the stock’s value, according to the CIO.
“With NFTs, both the inventor and the investor define the asset’s value and direction,” Jablonski explained. “People prefer to be a part of something, and I believe that unique aspect is what will really expand this area to be enormous.”
Just another blockchain ETF?
NFTZ joins a growing list of crypto or blockchain-related stock ETFs in the United States, even though regulators have yet to legalize ETFs that invest directly in bitcoin and other crypto assets.
Amplify Investments’ Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK) is the largest crypto equities ETF in the US, with almost $1.7 billion in assets under management since its January 2018 inception.
The $130 million Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ), the First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF (CRPT), the Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF (BTCR), and the Invesco Alerian Galaxy Crypto Economy ETF are just a few of the similar products that have launched this year (SATO).
According to Jablonski, the key difference between NFTZ and its competitors is that Defiance invests in stocks involved explicitly in issuing, creating, and selling NFTs.
While some of the competing services are actively managed, the Defiance co-founder stated that one of the firm’s key goals is to provide transparency to investors.
“We believe our investors should be able to see what we own when we buy and sell and how we select holdings based on index principles,” she said. “It also aids in the maintenance of efficient markets, allowing clients and market makers to trade or hedge with complete transparency.”
Due to the absence of pure-play companies offering exposure to the crypto area, according to Nathan Geraci, president of The ETF Store, many of the ETFs in the segment wind up appearing identical.
“Given the limited investment universe, I think NFTZ will have a difficult time differentiating itself from other blockchain ETFs at this early juncture.”