SKN | Crypto Index ETFs Are the ‘Next Wave of Adoption,’ Says WisdomTree Executive

Following the historic success of spot Bitcoin ETFs, a top executive from global asset manager WisdomTree predicts that diversified crypto index funds will be the next major catalyst for mainstream adoption. Will Peck, WisdomTree’s head of digital assets, argues that these products solve a critical need for investors who want broad sector exposure without the “idiosyncratic risk” of picking individual tokens.

Solving for “What’s Next?”

Speaking at The Bridge conference, Peck explained that while new investors now grasp the value proposition of Bitcoin ($BTC$), they “often struggle to judge the next 20 range of assets.” A multi-asset crypto basket, he argued, provides a straightforward solution for this investor dilemma.

Peck emphasized that investors in such a product are not just buying a correlated basket of assets; they are backing the technology itself. “Crypto we talked about as an asset class, but it’s really a technology, and the underlying return drivers of each of these tokens are actually quite different,” he said. An index fund allows investors to make a diversified bet on the entire technology’s growth rather than on a single application.

A New Wave of Products Emerges

This “next wave” is already beginning to form. This year, several asset managers have launched or expanded crypto index products. On Thursday, 21Shares launched two new crypto index ETFs regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940. This followed a move in September by Hashdex, which expanded its Crypto Index US ETF to include assets like XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Stellar (XLM), leveraging a favorable SEC rule change.

Peck believes the proliferation of these products is inevitable but cautions it may change investor perception. He noted that the success of the Bitcoin ETFs has “surpassed his expectations,” with $58.83 billion in net inflows, making it “one of the most competitive parts of the US ETF market.”

Shifting from “Stamp of Approval” to “Buyer Beware”

However, Peck foresees a “shift” in market psychology. Five years ago, an ETF launch might have been seen as an “institutional stamp of approval” on a specific asset. As more index products and single-asset ETFs launch, that perception will likely erode.

The responsibility for diligence, he argued, will move away from the regulator and onto the consumer. “It’s really going to be on clients making the right choices with their own money,” Peck stated, indicating that the SEC should not be a “merit-based regulator.”

This forthcoming wave of index products represents a maturation of the crypto market, moving it from a single-asset story dominated by Bitcoin to a more complex, sector-based investment thesis. The success of these funds will depend on whether investors are, in fact, ready to make a diversified bet on the entire “technology” of crypto, rather than just its digital gold.