Reality Shares is expected to launch the first cryptocurrency-related exchange traded fund that focuses on companies developing the innovative and transformative blockchain technology.
On Wednesday, Reality Shares is expected to roll out the Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (NasdaqGM: BLCN).
BLCN “invests in the companies that are developing this truly innovative and transformational blockchain technology,” according to Reality Shares. “The blockchain ecosystem potentially presents one of the most profound, long-term investment opportunities in the market today. Furthermore, blockchain is still in its infancy, and we are confident it will have far-reaching, disruptive effects in nearly every industry.”
Potential investors, though, should keep in mind that this ETF does not invest in cryptocurrencies, like bitcoins.
The ETF will try to reflect the performance of the Reality Shares Nasdaq Blockchain Economy Index, according to a SEC exemptive relief filing. The underlying index includes companies that are committing material resources to developing, researching, supporting, innovating or utilizing blockchain technology for their proprietary use or for use by others. These Blockchain Companies are committing material resources to further the use and deployment of blockchain technology to streamline the distribution and verification of cross-border payments; more efficiently store and secure cloud-based digital data; facilitate trusted transactions based on data security and privacy; and mitigate risk in supply chain management, among other uses.
Blockchain technology provides a transparent and secure process to transfer and digitally record information on a shared transaction database through a secure, decentralized, peer-to-peer distributed ledger, which negates the transactional challenges of counterparty trust and the need for a central repository or ledger. It is designed to facilitate the transfer of information or property between users such that the transfer is guaranteed to be secure and known to all participants and shared across a distributed network where the legitimacy of the transfer cannot be challenged.
BLCN would then focus on companies with a high Blockchain Score, or a proprietary ranking system designed to identify blockchain companies expected to benefit the most from the new blockchain technology.
“Many companies and organizations are innovative, but uncovering which companies may present real, actionable blockchain-related investment opportunities can be challenging. The Blockchain Score methodology is designed to identify the companies that may benefit most from blockchain technology and potentially pinpoint what could be the best of a growing segment of companies developing the underlying technologies behind blockchain innovation. The Blockchain Score methodology is a rules-based, quantitative process built to evaluate the highest-quality companies in various industries across the globe based on their blockchain-related innovative potential,” according to Reality Shares.
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