First NFT-focused Exchange Traded Fund lists on NYSE Arca

First NFT-focused Exchange Traded Fund lists on NYSE Arca
Photo by Chris Barbalis / Unsplash

Coin Telegraph Research predicts that by the end of 2021, nonfungible token (NFT) sales would have reached about $18 billion. In addition, Defiance, a registered investment adviser and fintech startup, stated on Thursday, December 2nd, that it had established the first nonfungible token (NFT)-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Arca of the New York Stock Exchange. The fund has a 0.65% annual management fee and is traded under the ticker symbol NFTZ.

The fund does not buy and keep NFTs to store them in wallets. Instead, it keeps track of a list of companies that are either active in the NFT space or planning to enter it, as well as the Metaverse. In addition, BITA, a German fintech firm, maintains the BITA NFT and Blockchain Select Index, which the fund aims to replicate.

Related: A Shocker; NYSE Gets in on the NFT craze

Coinbase, Cloudflare, Plby Group [Playboy], Marathon Digital, and Hut 8 Mining are among the fund's notable holdings. Silvergate Capital is its largest stake, accounting for 6.74 percent of its net assets. Silvergate is one of the world's largest gateways for crypto to fiat transactions among centralized cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions, which most investors are unaware of. Silvergate assisted in facilitating nearly $162 billion in such transactions in the third quarter alone. The NFTZ ETF's portfolio contains a total of 34 firms.

In addition to the NFTZ, the fintech firm intends to introduce a basket of ETFs that will monitor the latest breakthroughs in information technology and biotechnology. Its 5G, psychoactive, next-generation hydrogen, and quantum computing ETFs are attractions. According to Sylvia Jablonski, co-founder and chief investment officer of Defiance, The NFT revolution will transform the economic paradigm for artists, sports, inventors, and a slew of other businesses we can't even imagine now. As a result, NFTs have the potential to be bigger than the internet.

Read more