Roald Dahl-Style: The Great Crypto Capers and the Race for the Fast Lane! 🚀

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Key Takeaways

Oh, what a rip-roaring, twisty tale! 21Shares, that cheeky bunch of crypto enthusiasts, has scribed their plans to launch not just one, but two shiny new crypto index ETFs—faster than a squirrel on a sugar rush! They’re skimming past the usual snail-paced approval process, like a whiz kid stealing a cookie from the jar.

Now, dear reader, 21Shares has joined the fantastical crypto ETF race, but with a secret weapon—the speedy 1940 Act route. It’s like taking a magic broomstick instead of waiting for a slow old donkey to plod along.

On the glorious 18th of July, they announced that they’d be eyeballing the top ten blockchains—yes, those shiny, digital chains of coded magic. One fund, the “21Shares FTSE Crypto 10 Index ETF,” will track the top 10 treasures, while another will focus on the top ten programmable blockchains—like those clever little devices that do things beyond just Bitcoin, with a wink and a nod to the future!

Zooming Through the Approval Maze

Here’s where it gets really cheeky! These ETFs are being strutted out under the sneaky-sounding Investment Company Act of 1940—like slipping past the strict bouncers of the SEC. The usual dinosaur, the 1933 Act, can take months, maybe longer, to say “yes.” Yawn. But the 1940 Act? That’s like waving a magic wand, making approvals dance to your tune.

Meanwhile, other brave contenders like Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares itself are still waiting in the wings, dawdling with the slowpoke 1933 Act. Not much action there.

Grayscale’s giant crypto fund got the thumbs-up, but the SEC threw a little hissy fit—putting a stay order on it, just to keep everyone on their toes. The thought is that it might take until early fall, perhaps longer, to get sorted.

But Nate Geraci from ETF Store has a cheeky comment—saying, “ETF issuers aren’t hanging about, twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the SEC to get its act together on the ‘crypto ETF framework’.” Fancy that!

“They’re heading straight for the fast lane, skipping the SEC’s slowpoke line.”

Meanwhile, Federico Brokate, big boss at 21Shares in the U.S., is grinning from ear to ear. He calls these new products a way to offer “diversified crypto exposure”—because, naturally, everyone loves a good diversified gamble when the prices are climbing faster than a kangaroo on a trampoline.

“Investors want simple, quick, and diversifiable ways to jump on the digital assets bandwagon,”

By July, the SEC had a deadline looming for crypto index filings—Bitwise and Grayscale were in the line of fire. Grayscale got the nod; Bitwise is still twirling its thumbs. Live trading was paused, just to keep things interesting. Bloomberg thinks there’s a 95% chance these ETFs will be approved, so everyone’s watching the SEC with bated breath—just like waiting for the next plot twist in a good story.

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2025-07-20 09:47