First Trust Launches Crypto Industry ETF

The fund is subadvised by Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge.

First Trust’s latest ETF offering is a thematic take trying to represent the companies that service the broader industries surrounding cryptocurrency’s use and development.

The actively managed First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry and Digital Economy ETF (CRPT) debuted on the NYSE Arca Tuesday with a cost of 0.85%.

CRPT aims to provide exposure to U.S. and foreign companies falling under two themes: “crypto industry companies” that offer services for cryptocurrency miners and traders or keep half of their assets in crypto; and “digital economy companies” that operate in the broader digital finance industry.

The fund’s subadvisor SkyBridge Capital has no limit on how many stocks and foreign equivalents it can hold in the portfolio. It will not hold digital assets, even if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum or their futures contracts as the basis of an ETF.

SkyBridge was founded in 2005 by Anthony Scaramucci, a longtime financier who was White House Communications Director for former President Donald Trump for 10 days in July 2017.

CRPT costs the same as its closest competitor by theme, the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ). That ETF holds 30 stocks in a passively managed vehicle, and has so far returned 4.43% since it launched in May.

The Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF (RIGZ) is also a competitor in terms of providing exposure to crypto-supporting industries, but that fund carries an additional 5 basis points in cost.

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