The Hong Kong arm of Samsung Asset Management (SAM) is the latest to launch a blockchain ETF, the Korean Herald reports. At the end of March, SAM agreed to buy a 20% equity stake in Chicago-based Amplify ETFs for $30 million. Among Amplify’s ETF portfolio is BLOK, a blockchain and cryptocurrency ETF with more than $800 million in assets under management.
According to the Herald, SAM has exclusive rights to provide Amplify products in Asia as part of the equity deal. Hence Samsung will rebrand BLOK for its Hong Kong division.
The portfolio is quite diversified, with 46 holdings, the largest including Silvergate Bank, CME, SBI Holdings, NVidia, and GMO Internet. While many of its holdings reflect mainstream names like PayPal and Visa, it also has almost 8% invested in ETFs that hold cryptocurrencies directly and 22% in mining firms. The BLOK ETF current price is less than half its peak in November 2021.
Blockchain ETFs have been around for some time, including those issued by mainstream brands such as Invesco. However, the last couple of months have seen a flurry of announcements. Schwab filed to launch a crypto ETF in March, and BlackRock went live with its offering last week.
Two weeks ago, Fidelity launched separate crypto and metaverse ETFs. It followed it up by purchasing a plot of land in the Decentraland metaverse.
Beyond ETFs, BNY Mellon launched its Blockchain Innovation Fund in Singapore last week. While it’s new to Singapore, it’s been active across other jurisdictions for more than two years.
