T. Rowe Price, which manages $1.9 trillion in assets, said excluding well-established memecoins simply because they are memecoins would go against its active approach to investing in digital assets.
The asset manager has launched what it calls the industry’s first actively managed spot crypto ETF holding multiple tokens.
The T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (TKNZ) started trading Thursday, providing investors with exposure to a range of cryptocurrencies rather than a single asset. The launch marks the Baltimore-based firm’s latest expansion into the digital-asset market.
Unlike spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, which have dominated crypto investment products in recent years, TKNZ invests across a broader selection of tokens. The portfolio includes bitcoin, ether, BNB, XRP, Solana (SOL), Hyperliquid (HYPE), and other cryptocurrencies.
Another key difference is that TKNZ is actively managed. Instead of following a predetermined index, portfolio managers can change the fund’s holdings according to market conditions, research, and risk assessments. T. Rowe Price said this flexibility allows the fund to respond to changes in market leadership and momentum as investors shift capital between cryptocurrencies.
The ETF arrives as traditional asset managers increasingly develop crypto products beyond single-token funds. Earlier this month, BlackRock introduced a bitcoin income ETF that uses options strategies linked to its spot bitcoin ETF, highlighting the growing variety of digital-asset investment products entering the market.
Active crypto funds may help investors navigate a market known for extreme volatility and quickly changing trends. However, these products generally charge higher fees, meaning managers must outperform passive funds to justify the additional cost.
TKNZ currently has a 0.75% net management fee through May 2027 because of a temporary fee waiver. The fee is scheduled to increase to 0.90% once the waiver expires.
Blue Macellari, T. Rowe Price’s head of digital assets, manages the fund with four co-portfolio managers. Macellari has headed the firm’s digital-asset strategy since 2022, overseeing research into cryptocurrencies, blockchain protocols, and related investment products.
The ETF launch follows years of preparation. T. Rowe Price said it developed proprietary digital-asset trading infrastructure and worked with institutional service providers to build the systems needed to support crypto trading and fund operations before entering the market.
