U.S. SEC approves 9 new blockchain-enabled funds from WisdomTree

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved nine more WisdomTree blockchain-enabled funds, which the asset manager plans to launch on its mobile app in the following months.

Although these funds do not directly track crypto assets, WidsomTree describes them as blockchain-enabled or “digital funds” since they utilize the Ethereum and Stellar blockchains to maintain a secondary record of share ownership.

SEC approves new WisdomTree ‘blockchain-enabled’ funds

On December 14, the firm announced the SEC’s approval, noting that the nine digital funds provide exposure to a variety of asset classes, including equities, commodities, and floating rate treasuries. The funds are expected to be accessible through the WisdomTree Prime mobile app in Q1 2023.

WisdomTree’s Head of Digital Assets, Will Peck, stated:

“We believe that blockchain-enabled finance has the potential to improve the investor experience through enhanced liquidity, transparency, and standardization, which we aim to achieve over time.” 

WisdomTree’s total digital funds now stand at ten. In September of this year, regulators approved the company’s first digital fund, the WisdomTree Short-Term Treasury Digital Fund (WTSYX).

WisdomTree sees potential in blockchain-enabled finance

In a blog post published on September 26, Peck highlighted that WisdomTree is seeking to improve the investor experience through the utilization of digital funds and blockchain technology, particularly in terms of trading and transaction settlements.

Further, during the company’s earnings call in October, WisdomTree executives stated that blockchain-enabled digital wrappers are the future of asset management.

CEO Jonathan Steinberg noted at the time that the company had spent roughly $20 million on tokenization and WisdomTree Prime efforts. The firm is expanding the app’s ability to initially enable users to transfer tokenized assets such as dollars, gold, Treasury bills, bitcoin, and ether.

“Crypto’s interesting, but the real opportunity is blockchain-enabled finance,” WisdomTree Chief Operating Officer Jarrett Lilien added during the call.

As of December 14, WisdomTree claimed to manage around $82 billion in assets across its listed funds in the US and Europe.

WisdomTree attempted to list a spot bitcoin ETF in 2021 and 2022. However, both proposals were turned down by the SEC, which cited a lack of sufficient parameters to prevent market manipulation and fraudulent activity.