First Charles Schwab Crypto ETF to launch next week

Charles Schwab is set to launch its first crypto-related ETF next week, following other major fund groups that have brought similar products to market this year.

The Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF (STCE) tracks the firm’s new proprietary index, which includes companies that enable the use of digital assets to buy or sell goods and services, as well as those that develop blockchain applications, among others.

STCE is expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange on August 4, the company revealed on Friday. It will have an annual cost share of 30 basis points.

The fund will not invest directly in crypto. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected many proposed ETFs that want to hold physical bitcoin.

“For investors interested in cryptocurrency exposures, there is an entire ecosystem to consider as more companies seek to derive revenue from crypto directly and indirectly,” said David Botset, managing director, head of equity product management and innovation at Schwab Asset Management. in a statement.

Charles Schwab currently has 27 U.S.-traded ETFs with assets under management of nearly $250 billion, according to ETF.com.

Charles Schwab undercuts Wall Street rivals

The firm had first applied to launch the ETF in March, a couple of months after Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger told Bloomberg in January that cryptocurrencies are “hard to ignore” and “quite significant.”

The upcoming launch follows the listing of similar ETFs by BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager – and financial services titan Fidelity Investments in April.

Schwab’s new ETF undercuts BlackRock’s iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF (IBLC) and Fidelity Crypto Industry and Digital Payments ETF (FDIG), which have expense ratios of 47bps and 39bps, respectively.

Schwab’s offering is also set to be half the price of Invesco’s Crypto Economy ETF (SATO), which launched last October.

The crypto ETFs of BlackRock, Fidelity and Invesco have so far failed to gain significant assets, according to FactSet data, and have a combined roughly $20 million.

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