SEC gives a thumbs up to nine WisdomTree blockchain-enabled funds

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given a nod to nine new blockchain-enabled funds offered by the New York-based asset manager WisdomTree.

These nine digital funds, according to the firm, provide exposure to a variety of asset classes, including equities, commodities, and floating-rate treasuries. The funds will be available through a mobile application in the first quarter of next year. It was nearly three months ago that the SEC approved the firm’s first digital fund, the WisdomTree Short-Term Treasury Digital Fund (WTSYX).

Such a fund utilizes blockchain as its underlying technology but doesn’t directly or indirectly invest in any blockchain-based assets such as cryptocurrencies. Instead, it invests in fixed-income securities or equity securities.

WisdomTree claims to have assets worth approximately $82 billion under its management across its U.S. and Europe-listed funds.

“We believe that blockchain-enabled finance has the potential to improve the investor experience through enhanced liquidity, transparency, and standardization, which we aim to achieve over time,” Will Peck, Head of Digital Assets, WisdomTree said.

Repeated rejections over concerns of fraud

Peck had earlier mentioned about WisdomTree looking at creating a greater investor experience via digital funds and blockchain tech, particularly in relation to trading and transaction settlements.

Similar to Grayscale Investments, the firm has also been pushing to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering exposure to the spot price of Bitcoin (BTC) since early 2021.

However, the SEC has repeatedly rejected WidsomTree’s applications on multiple occasions, citing concerns over fraud and market manipulation in BTC trading markets.

The SEC is yet to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. Peck had opined that the SEC’s market manipulation claims would likely be the hardest nut to crack in an ETF approval.

WisdomTree, however, offers a range of products that track the crypto market. In March, it launched three crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) backed by Solana, Cardano, and Polkadot.