The venture arm of Chicago-based high-frequency trading firm DRW Holdings Revealed It now has at least $195 million worth of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, including over $150 million in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, marking the company’s first exposure to cryptocurrencies. Ethereum
+1.13%
The SEC approved the first spot ether ETF to begin trading in July, roughly six months after the launch of the spot bitcoin ETF. And while the spot bitcoin ETF has seen billions of dollars in net inflows from a mix of institutional and retail traders, the Ethereum-based fund has yet to gain as much traction.
DRW’s entry into the ETH ETF market could be a sign of growing institutional interest in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with the firm owning more than a three-fold increase in ETH ETFs. 
Bitcoin
+3.34%
The ETF (actually the Grayscale ETHE product) is the third-largest holding, behind funds tracking the S&P 500 and the Gold Trust.
The firm’s exposure to BTC ETFs is also less concentrated than that of specific funds. It holds Bitcoin products issued by Ark, 21Shares, Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, and Proshares, the latter being its largest Bitcoin-focused holding.
DRW has been increasingly involved in the crypto industry since at least 2018. For example, Cumberland, a crypto-focused market making unit, has been selected as a liquidity provider for several Bitcoin ETFs. Cumberland also recently received a “Bitlicense” from the New York State Department of Financial Services.
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About the Author
Daniel Kuhn is a senior journalist and editor at The Block, covering the cryptocurrency industry with a particular focus on technology. He previously served as an associate editor at CoinDesk, where he covered the opinions/articles section. He was first published in the trade publication Financial Planning. Before pursuing journalism, he studied philosophy as an undergraduate, English literature as a graduate student, and business and economic reporting at NYU’s professional program. You can connect with him on Twitter and Telegram @danielgkuhn, or find him on Urbit as ~dorrys-lonreb.