Multinational financial services heavyweight Charles Schwab is reportedly going to make investments in cryptocurrency via a filing with the US SEC to introduce a Crypto Economy ETF.

Specifically, the filing – a response to client demands – was reportedly submitted a week following the head of investor services at Schwab, Jonathan Craig, revealing one in six Schwab clients had shared their interest in investing in crypto. 

“A full 16% of Schwab’s clients plan to put money into cryptocurrencies in the first half of the year.”

The proposed Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) reportedly has a primary target of tracking the returns of an index developed to “deliver global exposure to companies that may benefit from the development or utilization of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.”

Per the official filing, the ETF is reportedly utilizing the Schwab Crypto Economy Index as a benchmark index and make investments of “at least 80% of its net assets”, into the stocks listed on the Schwab Crypto Economy Index from firms taking advantage of Bitcoin (BTC) “and other digital assets.”

An ETF reportedly enables investors to conduct speculations on the price of a basket of assets, without requiring custody or owning them in any measure. 

Schwab’s Crypto Economy ETF would not reportedly make any direct investments in crypto nor initial coin offerings (ICO), per the filing, but instead would make investments in firms that handle crypto. 

“The fund may have indirect exposure to cryptocurrencies by virtue of its investments in companies that use one or more digital assets as part of their business activities or that hold digital assets as proprietary investments.”

Schwab reportedly followed the footprint of its financial institution rival Blackrock – a top-tier asset management entity with  $10 trillion in assets under management – with the submitted filing for a crypto ETF.