A $41B Investment Firm Wants to Stick With Just Bitcoin ETFs as Safer Bet

Earlier this year, Calamos made its crypto debut with the launch of not one but three funds designed to protect investors from the volatility in bitcoin’s (BTC) price.

But the global investment management firm, which handles $41.3 billion in assets, is far from launching any other products beyond bitcoin, — even Ethereum (ETH), said its head of ETFs Matt Kaufman in an interview with CoinDesk.

Since their inception, Calamos’ protected BTC funds have attracted over $100 million from investors, which primarily include financial advisors.

For most firms looking to make an entrance into the crypto market, launching a bitcoin product is just the first step in a long journey that quickly extends to ethereum-based products. BlackRock, for example, applied to launch its spot bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in June 2023 and five months later, did the same for Ethereum (ETH).

“Ethereum doesn’t really meet our criteria for being able to effectively hedge that exposure,” he said. “It’s not a liquid asset, there’s no options on Ethereum ETPs so if those check boxes start to get built, we’ll explore it but right now it’s not on our radar.”

The Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF (CBOJ), Calamos Bitcoin 90 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF (CBXJ) and Calamos Bitcoin 80 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF (CBTJ) offer investors 80-100% downside protection with an upside cap rate of 10-55%.

This is achieved by using a combination of Treasuries and options on the CBOE Bitcoin US ETF Index. While Cboe Exchange has filed to list options tied to Ether ETFs, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January delayed its deadline to approve or deny the product. The Commission will have to stick to the final deadline in May, however.

Another asset class that Calamos won’t likely ever touch is meme coins, Kaufman said. “We’re a risk manager, so we build things we know will work,” he said. “From that perspective, I don’t have any opinion on meme coins but it’s not something I would ever do.”

Kaufman believes that the recent surge in applications for meme coin ETFs highlights the fact that investors have to do their due diligence. “We live in America, you have to know what you own. Freedom gives you choice and with choice comes responsibility,” he said.

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