Wisdomtree Looks to Expand Its Crypto Push with SEC-Approved Stablecoin

Wisdomtree Investments, Inc. a heavyweight United States-based exchange-traded fund sponsor and asset manager with over $41 billion in asset under management, has announced plans to launch its own stablecoin. The firm says the non-volatile digital currency will be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and backed by a number of real-world assets including gold and fiat money, according to reports on January 13, 2019.

Wisdomtree Joins the Stablecoin Bandwagon

Wisdomtree, the seventh-largest exchange-traded fund provider in the United States is looking to launch its own stablecoin, to enable it to take advantage of the excellent properties of blockchain-based virtual currencies without worrying about their unending price fluctuations.

Per sources close to the matter, Wisdomtree plans to work in compliance with the existing U.S. regulation governing digital assets and securities and the firm plans to meet with the U.S. financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a bid to gain more regulatory clarity on its proposed project.

Reportedly, Wisdomtree firmly believes that creating its own stablecoin will give it a significant edge over its competitors such as Fidelity and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager which carried out a feasibility study on the crypto markets and blockchain technology in July 2019, as part of plans to venture into the world of bitcoin (BTC).

“We have been looking at blockchain technology for several years, recognizing the potential for shared processes and data across market participants, clearing, settlement and reconciliation, and simplified securities issuance,” declared BlackRock at the time.

Wisdomtree Interested in Expanding ETF Offerings

As reported by BTCManager earlier in December 2019, Wisdomtree launched a bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded product (ETP), to give institutional investors exposure to the world’s flagship cryptocurrency without bothering about how to hold or store the coins.

In the latest development, Wisdomtree’s corporate-strategy director, William Peck has stated categorically that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a natural extension of its existing ETF offerings.

Peck says its proposed regulated stablecoin will be designed to function like U.S. dollar-backed assets such as short-term treasury bonds and others, just that it will be backed by blockchain technology, to make it more attractive to crypto traders.

Peck said:

“We definitely see a market within the existing crypto-native community, transacting digital assets today. Long term, this is positioning us to be a leader in the rapidly-evolving crypto industry.”