Canada’s Top 5 Bank Makes Bold Crypto ETF Move With New Multi-Asset Fund
Traditional finance just blinked—and crypto won.
The Institutional Stamp
One of Canada's five largest banks is diving headfirst into digital assets, launching a new multi-asset fund with direct exposure to cryptocurrency ETFs. This isn't a tentative toe-dip; it's a full-scale strategic allocation, signaling a major shift in how mainstream portfolio managers view the asset class. The move effectively bypasses the old guard's skepticism, offering clients a regulated on-ramp to crypto markets without the operational headaches of direct custody.
Why This Fund Changes the Game
Forget mining rigs and seed phrases. This fund packages crypto exposure into a familiar, institutional-grade wrapper. It provides diversified access across multiple leading digital assets through established exchange-traded products, blending them with traditional holdings. It's asset management's answer to demand—offering growth potential while (theoretically) smoothing out crypto's notorious volatility with other investments. A classic case of giving clients what they want, just wrapped in layers of comforting compliance paperwork.
The Bigger Picture for Finance
When a top-tier bank makes this play, it’s a bellwether. It validates crypto ETFs as a legitimate portfolio component for conservative investors and high-net-worth individuals. This move pressures other major institutions to follow suit or risk losing assets to more agile competitors. It’s a quiet revolution, happening one balance sheet at a time.
The Bottom Line
The wall between traditional finance and crypto isn't just crumbling—it's being dismantled by the very institutions that built it. They've finally realized it's more profitable to offer the rollercoaster ride than to stand outside the theme park criticizing the safety standards. The future of finance is multi-asset, and digital currencies have officially claimed their seat at the table. Now, about those management fees...
Fee Cut Draws Attention Before Trading Begins
Before the fund had logged a full day of trading, it was already drawing attention for its price tag. Dynamic set the management fee at 0.25%, reduced from an original 0.45%, and locked that rate in through March 1, 2027.
Scotia Bank has launched an active crypto picking ETF in Canada today. Notable bc first bank up there to get in game and the fee is only 25bps, very low for active and Canada. Will hold the big cryptos but have 10% eq sleeve as well. pic.twitter.com/Vn6vpKre68
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 4, 2026
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas flagged the number publicly, calling it highly competitive within the space.
Multi-asset crypto funds have been growing in appeal among investors who want broad exposure without picking individual tokens.
Rather than buying and storing each asset separately across different platforms, a single ETF handles all of it inside a familiar, regulated wrapper. For retail investors especially, that simplicity carries weight.
The choice of assets also signals something. Bitcoin and Ether are fixtures in most institutional crypto products. Solana and XRP are newer additions to that tier.
XRP in particular spent years caught up in a high-profile legal dispute with US securities regulators — a fight that cast a long shadow over its institutional standing.
Its inclusion here suggests that, at least in Canada, that shadow has lifted enough to pass a bank’s compliance review.
Ownership Change Looms Over 3iQ’s Next Chapter
The timing of the launch comes with a footnote. According to reports, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck recently agreed to acquire 3iQ for roughly $112 million in stock.
The deal has not yet closed and is expected to wrap up sometime in the second quarter of this year. How the ownership transition affects 3iQ’s existing partnerships — including the one with Dynamic Funds — remains to be seen.
Canada approved spot Bitcoin ETFs years before the US did, and its market has since expanded to include spot Ether products and a range of other digital asset funds spread across exchanges like the Toronto Stock Exchange and Cboe Canada.
Scotiabank’s entry adds another major financial institution to that list, widening the pool of Canadians who can access crypto through their standard brokerage accounts without stepping outside the regulated system.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
