ProShares is widening the crypto ETF playbook just as investors are showing signs of outgrowing single-coin bets. The firm on Wednesday rolled out the CoinDesk 20 Crypto ETF (NYSE:KRYP), the first U.S.-listed ETF built to track the CoinDesk 20 Index which captures the performance of the largest and most liquid slice of the digital-asset market in one shot.
The timing is notable. With bitcoin ETFs now firmly embedded in portfolios and ether products gaining traction, asset managers are starting to test whether investors are ready for a "crypto core" allocation rather than a one-token trade. KRYP is squarely aimed at that shift.
Unlike single-asset crypto ETFs, KRYP tracks an index composed of 20 digital assets selected from the top 250 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The benchmark is market-cap weighted but subject to caps, with quarterly rebalancing intended to keep any single token from dominating the portfolio.
ProShares CEO Michael Sapir said that investor demand for crypto has moved beyond concentrated exposure toward broader participation in the asset class, something that, until now, has been difficult to achieve through a single U.S.-listed ETF.
The CoinDesk 20 methodology also draws clear lines around what it excludes. Stablecoins, memecoins, privacy-focused tokens and various wrapped or pegged assets are left out, as are cryptocurrencies that fail to meet liquidity and exchange-listing thresholds. The result is a basket designed to reflect what index providers view as the institutional-grade segment of the crypto universe.
For ProShares, the ETF builds on an already deep crypto lineup. The firm currently offers 13 crypto-linked ETFs in the U.S., along with related mutual fund products, spanning futures-based bitcoin exposure, leveraged strategies and thematic plays tied to blockchain-adjacent equities.
KRYP's debut reveals an interesting pattern: crypto exposure is starting to resemble the evolution of equity indexing. After years of flagship single-name products, issuers are now experimenting with diversified benchmarks that mirror how investors access traditional asset classes.
Photo: Shutterstock