Getting exposure to companies involved in cryptocurrency, blockchain and bitcoin mining has never been easier thanks to ASX ETFs, like the BetaShares BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP). Here’s a very quick ETF review of the ASX’s first crypto ETF.
How the CRYP ETF could be used in portfolios
The CRYP ETF tracks the Bitwise Crypto Innovators Index. CRYP holds ~32 companies, mainly based in the United States.
The CRYP ETF does not directly invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, instead, it provides a ‘picks and shovels’ exposure to the Crypto gold rush. In this way, investors in CRYP are not exposed to the highly volatile cryptocurrency prices but rather the companies and technology providers which make cryptocurrencies possible.
CRYP exceeds our minimum market cap (FUM) criteria
The BetaShares CRYP ETF had around $105 million of money already invested in the ETF when we last pulled the monthly numbers. Given how new the ETF is, this level of investment is extremely high.
Given CRYP’s total funds under management (FUM) figure is over $100 million, the ETF has met our minimum criteria for the total amount of money invested, otherwise known as FUM. We draw the line at $100 million for ETFs in the International shares sector because we believe that, relative to smaller ETFs, achieving this amount of FUM de-risks the ETF and makes it worthwhile for the fund to continue to operate.
Note: a high level of investment does not mean the ETF will perform well.
CRYP’s fees & costs
BetaShares charges investors a yearly management fee of 0.67% for the CRYP ETF. This means that if you invested $2,000 in CRYP for a full year, you could expect to pay management fees of around $13.40.
For context, the average management fee (MER) of all ETFs covered by Best ETFs Australia on our complete list of ASX ETFs is 0.51% or around $10.20 per $2,000 invested. Keep in mind, small changes in fees can make a big difference after 10 or 20 years.
Bottom line
This is just a quick overview of the CRYP ETF. One of our Best ETFs writers, Lachlan Buur-Jensen, recently wrote about the CRYP ETF in greater detail.
Before ‘testing the depth of the water with both feet’ so to speak, be sure to read the CRYP ETF’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), available on the BetaShares website, or speak to your financial adviser. For another handy resource, take a look at our BetaShares CRYP report. You can also use our complete list of ASX ETFs to search for a few different ETFs in the sector and conduct a side-by-side comparison using everything you’ve learned here.
