WELL, are these four new ETF's being launched at the top of the market OR will they be the "real deal"? Just as the equity and crypto markets cracked last week KOIN, BLOK, XLK and BLCN debuted. One thing they have in common is that it seems that they kind of all hold similar fintech companies.........overlap as it were. So, whether the picks are made by algos (and they are) or human research (and they are) they all "found" the same stocks (special counsel to explore collusion?) which only means there are not a lot of stocks to pick from. Because of the timing of their debut AND their similar holdings it might be sort of fun to perhaps (?) bet on which will do better (or lose less) then the others. Hey, they got to market in the nick of time so congratulations are in order. Congrats and good luck.
Bill Taylor/Founding Editor
"Cryptocurrency markets might be cooling off, but the hype around blockchain isn’t abating, judging by the popularity of exchange-traded funds centered on the technology.
Four new ETFs, all promising to give investors exposure to blockchain technology, launched in January. The latest is the Innovation Shares NextGen Protocol ETF, which trades under the ticker KOIN and made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The newcomer said it aims to stand out thanks to a stock-picking methodology driven by an artificial-intelligence algorithm, though its methodology is similar to two competitors, which also use a combination of machines and humans to read news and regulatory filings to screen stocks.
Such ETFs are seeing a surge in interest that appears driven by hype surrounding blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underpins digital currency like bitcoin, according to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
“These ETF issuers are tapping into the mania surrounding bitcoin and blockchain and are cashing in by launching products that investors want,” Balchunas said.
Overlapping Holdings
The four recently launched products are similar to each other, with an overlap in their top holdings. They also overlap with existing sector ETFs such as the Technology Select Sector SPDR FundXLK, -2.96%.
“If someone wants a pure blockchain exposure, they can’t get it because there are not enough stocks to put into an ETF,” Balchunas said.
Instead, these ETFs give you the “story of a blockchain,” but in reality perform like the broader market, he said.
Matthew Markiewicz, head of Innovation Shares, said that while a lot of technology companies overlap, “over time our AI algorithm will pick new companies that provide tools for or use blockchain technology.”
KOIN is competing against three other ETFs that listed a few weeks earlier..."