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1.8 Trillion Asset Manager Gets Into Crypto Game, Following 2020 Entry In ETFs
- T. Rowe Price, a century-old financial giant managing US$1.8 trillion in assets, has filed for an actively managed crypto exchange-traded fund including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Litecoin and others.
- The move is significant because T. Rowe Price only entered the ETF sector in 2020 and is now rapidly moving into crypto.
- Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas expects T. Rowe Price’s filing to trigger a “land rush” into crypto, with 155 exchange-traded product filings currently awaiting SEC approval.
T. Rowe Price is filing for an actively managed crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF).
“So what”, I hear you say.
Well, T. Rowe Price is a large asset manager with US$1.8 trillion (AU$2.7 trillion) in assets, but there’s something else that’s noteworthy: it’s as mainstream as it gets – indicating increasing interest from TradFi in getting into the crypto game – and it’s relatively new to the ETF sector.
As Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth and co-founder of the ETF Institute, points out, T. Rowe Price was founded in 1937 but only entered the ETF field in 2020.
Getting into crypto ETFs that quickly is remarkable, and Geraci says the firm missed the early ETF boom and now wants to avoid being left behind with crypto.
A number of these firms actually missed out on ETF boom. They want to avoid same mistake w/ crypto. Hoping crypto goes away is *not* a good biz strategy.
Nate Geraci Related: VanEck: Bitcoin Miners’ Debt Surges Sixfold Amid AI and Hashrate Arms Race
Experts Expect Crypto Land Rush Following Approval
Geraci also reminded people to zoom out – T. Rowe Price’s ETF isn’t the real story.
The real story is that a century-old financial giant is wiring itself for the next generation of finance – and that’s how you get from “crypto speculation” to tokenised everything.
The T. Rowe Price ETF would give investors exposure to a range of digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Litecoin and others.
Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas added that T. Rowe Price’s application would be followed by a “land rush” into crypto.
He explained further that there are currently 155 exchange-traded product (ETP) filings awaiting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval. The SEC is currently operating in a restricted or “emergency-mode” capacity due to the 2025 United States federal government shutdown.
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Memecoin ETFs Despite Poor Price Performance
Alongside the usual suspects, there are even filings for ETPs and ETFs linked to memecoins such as TRUMP, BONK, DOGE and PENGU. Most of these memecoins have lost much of their value. TRUMP, for example, is down over 90% from its peak of US$75.35 (AU$115.89), currently trading around US$5.91 (AU$9.09).
The broader crypto market, meanwhile, has somewhat recovered, with most major coins in the green. Bitcoin itself has gained just over 2% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at US$111,186 (AU$171,025).
Related: Analysts Say Gold’s Hot Streak Might Actually be Bullish for Bitcoin
This comes as analysts debate where the BTC price is headed, with only two months left in 2025. Lofty targets of US$250k (AU$384k) or higher seem far off now, according to some experts, while others believe Bitcoin is still on track to reach US$1 million (AU$1.5 million) per coin.
Author
Aaron Feuerstein
Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.
