Wall Street’s ETF Machines Shift Into Crypto Overdrive

Asset managers are racing to launch crypto ETFs—because nothing screams ''institutional adoption'' like repackaging decentralization into a tidy tradable product.

Who needs blockchain purity when you’ve got expense ratios to sell?

Expect slick marketing, volatile inflows, and at least one exec calling it ''the future'' while quietly hedging with T-bills.

ETF firms move fast to capitalize on crypto demand

These filings landed just as Circle finished its third trading day with a 270% gain, making it the biggest crypto equity debut since Coinbase listed in 2021. The New York-based firm raised $1.1 billion through the IPO and immediately drew the attention of high-risk traders.

Unlike other crypto firms, Circle makes money from interest on U.S. Treasuries and other SAFE assets that back its token. That gives it a different business model from transaction-fee-driven firms like Coinbase.

The new ETFs are coming at a time when single-stock funds are seeing a major rise in popularity. So far, in 2025, they make up 16% of all new ETF launches. Bloomberg Intelligence says more than 15 issuers are already in the race, most chasing retail traders who want fast exposure to volatile names.

The funds being designed around Circle are among the most aggressive yet. Their expected volatility is nearly double that of ETFs that already got approved.

Athanasios Psarofagis, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said, “It’s an alignment of the stars. It’s a crypto company, so that’s high demand, it’s leveraged, and it’s a market hungry for IPOs.” That combo was enough for these firms to act immediately.

Traders react to drop ahead of stablecoin bill vote

But the rally didn’t last forever. On Tuesday, Circle stock dipped as much as 10% — the first drop since its public debut. That selloff came just before a key vote on stablecoin regulation, which is scheduled for Wednesday.

The crypto industry is backing the bill, and so is President Donald Trump, whose administration has taken a much friendlier stance toward crypto than the last one. Trump’s family-backed firm, World Liberty Financial, has even launched its own stablecoin.

Circle currently controls 29% of the stablecoin market through USDC, which is tied to the value of the U.S. dollar. Its approach to revenue — earning yield on reserves — is drawing in institutional attention.

One of the first big buyers was Cathie Wood, whose firm ARK Investment Management picked up more than 3 million shares of Circle for its flagship ETF, ARKK, on the day of the IPO. That instantly pushed it into ARKK’s top 10 holdings. ARK also added Circle to its other ETFs.

The IPO also signaled something bigger. New crypto firms are lining up to follow Circle to the public market. Gemini, the crypto exchange run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has quietly filed for its own IPO. Blockchain.com has been hiring executives and prepping to go public too. And the ETF industry is tracking them closely.

Mohit Bajaj, director of ETFs at WallachBeth Capital, said, “This is the new trend. As certain companies IPO, we are seeing ETFs, and more specifically some levered ETFs, sprout to take advantage of any tailwinds.” After Circle’s huge performance, Bajaj said, “Some ETF issuers are trying to create a product based on it — in hopes that it will have success too.”

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