CoinShares To Launch FTX Token ETP, Bullish Signal For FTT Prices?

CoinShares, Europe’s largest digital asset manager, said on Thursday it will launch a new exchange-traded product directly tracking the FTX token (FTT). The launch is in partnership with world no. 3 crypto exchange FTX.

The ETP will launch on Germany’s Xetra exchange, and will initially begin with seed capital of about $40 million.

The launch is the second ETP launched in partnership between CoinShares and FTX. Earlier this year, the two launched a physically-backed Solana ETP, which gave investors exposure to SOL staking rewards.

FTT prices reacted positively to the move, rising about 1.7% immediately after the announcement. But the new ETP could indicate more gains for FTT.

FTT set for big institutional money?

The new ETP makes investing in FTT accessible to a wide variety of investors. Equity-focussed investors can now gain exposure to the crypto without actually buying tokens. This could also attract a slew of institutional traders looking to gain exposure to the token.

FTT is the native token on the FTX crypto exchange, and is used to facilitate transactions on the exchange. Its price movements also provide some context on FTX’s trading volumes.

As such, investors looking to gain exposure to FTX can also buy the token, given that the exchange does not have publicly listed shares.

Altcoins see growing institutional demand

Coinshares’ newest FTT product is its fifth crypto-related launch this year. The move comes amid growing institutional interest in tokens beyond the stalwart Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The asset manager already offers ETPs covering Polkadot, Tezos, Cardano, and Litecoin. But it hasn’t been alone in exploring altcoin-backed instruments.

U.S.-based Grayscale had earlier this year launched a smart contracts fund tracking several altcoin projects. Fund managers such as Wisdomtree and 21Shares also offer a variety of altcoin-backed products, while exchange operator CME recently launched indexes tracking altcoin prices.

But ETPs that directly track crypto prices are relegated to non-American countries, given that the United States is yet to approve a spot crypto product.

Still, ETFs and institutional products are instrumental in attracting large capital flows into crypto.