T. Rowe Price has asked the SEC to approve the “T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF,” marking its first hands-on step into exchange-traded crypto products. The firm already oversees $1.77 trillion, and its entry adds a heavyweight to the field. The move pressures storage, record-keeping and compliance providers, and forces large investors and product teams to take notice.
The T.Rowe ETF aims to hold five to fifteen cryptocurrencies and beat the FTSE Crypto US Listed Index. Managers will not pick coins by size alone; they will mix data on basic value, price tags and recent price speed to guide selections.
The eligible universe is broad but still bound by SEC listing rules. The list they may buy from includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Avalanche, Litecoin, Polkadot, Dogecoin, Hedera, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink, Stellar and Shiba Inu, provided each asset meets the SEC’s normal listing requirements.
T. Rowe fund design and strategy
T. Rowe Price’s scale and brand make the filing a marker event. The company had largely stayed on the sidelines of ETFs, and market watchers call the rush of similar filings a “land rush.” Eric Balchunas labeled the news a “semi-shock,” and Nate Geraci noted that a staid giant now wants to run an active crypto fund, underscoring how far the firm has moved from its earlier, cooler stance toward digital assets.
Operational standards across custody, auditing and compliance are likely to face higher expectations. Safer storage options and tougher know-your-customer and anti-money-launder checks will spread faster. Rivals already selling crypto ETFs now face a deeper-pocketed competitor, putting fees and operating standards under strain.
External events slowed the filing’s path. The request reached the SEC in late October 2025 after a partial U.S. government shutdown that began October 1 and lasted twenty-three days paused all ETF reviews.
The next step is straightforward: once the SEC restarts work, it will read the filing and decide yes or no after checking listing, custody and compliance details. This decision will determine how quickly higher operational standards and competitive pressure ripple across crypto ETFs.
