Key Highlights
- 19, 2025 at 10:59 am UTC Share Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate.
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- US spot crypto ETFs have attracted more than $70 billion in net inflows since January 2024, making traditional financial investment vehicles the primary entry point for new money into the emerging industry. That surge, driven by products linked to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more recently Solana and XRP, has validated the industry’s view that many investors will buy crypto only through regulated structures they already use for stocks and bonds. Notably, Schwab Asset Management recently found that 45% of ETF investors plan to purchase crypto ETFs, a figure that now ties with interest in bond ETFs. Schwabs ETF Survey (Source: Eric Balchunas)However, with the SEC expected to clear more than 100 additional crypto ETFs next year, wealth managers face a new problem.
- Due to this wave of products, their decision will move from a simple “own Bitcoin or not” question to picking which of dozens of single-asset products might lead the next cycle. In a recent interview, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan pointed out this difficulty, while noting that many traditional investors have no strong view on decentralization or on “Ethereum versus Solana” and instead want broad market exposure. However, that has become harder to achieve as the lineup shifts from a few flagship Bitcoin ETFs to a crowded shelf of narrowly focused products that demand a level of due diligence many advisory platforms are not built to handle. The crypto index solutionMarket observers believe that this growing complexity of single-asset choices will push investors toward crypto index ETPs, which package baskets of tokens into a single listed security. Notably, the category gained structural footing in September when Grayscale launched the Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF, described as the first multi-asset crypto fund in the United States. Since then, issuers have rolled out Bitwise’s BITW, 21Shares’ FTSE Crypto 10 Index ETF (TTOP) and its ex-Bitcoin version (TXBC), along with competing products from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton. Roxanna Islam, head of sector and industry research at VettaFi, said the evolution resembles the way equity investors often move from individual stocks to broad index funds as an asset class matures. Islam added that the new funds reflect a growing preference among advisors for simple portfolio building blocks. Nate Geraci, President of Nova Dius Wealth, agreed, noting he is “highly bullish” on demand for these baskets as they offer a one-click solution for allocators looking to bypass the noise of individual token selection. The mechanicsMost multi-asset crypto index products end up owning a very similar mix of coins. Their rulebooks typically start with free-float market capitalization and basic liquidity filters, which naturally push most of the weight into Bitcoin and ETH, leaving only small allocations for everything else. Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) is a case in point.
- According to its data, the fund holds roughly three-quarters of its portfolio in Bitcoin and about 15% in Ethereum, with the remainder split into single-digit stakes: around 5% in XRP, just under 3% in Solana, and a little more than half a percent in Cardano. Meanwhile, a holdings comparison compiled by Bloomberg illustrates how systematic the funds' holdings can be. Looking across six of the main crypto baskets, including products from Grayscale, Bitwise, and Hashdex, Solana and Cardano appear in every lineup. Crypto Index ETF Asset Weightings (Source: Bloomberg)Cardano's presence across all the funds is surprising, given that it lacks a dedicated US spot ETF and lag.
