T. Rowe Price breaks Wall Street mold with first active crypto ETF

T. Rowe Price, which manages nearly $2 trillion, has launched an actively managed crypto ETF holding nine digital assets, led by Bitcoin at almost 41%.

According to a July 16 press release from T. Rowe Price, the Active Crypto ETF began trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker TKNZ. The asset manager described the product as the market’s first actively managed multi-token spot exchange-traded product.

Unlike funds built around a single coin or a fixed index, TKNZ gives its managers room to adjust the portfolio as market conditions change. T. Rowe Price said its team will use research, valuation data, momentum signals, and risk controls when choosing allocations.

Bitcoin holds the largest position at nearly 41% of the portfolio, according to the firm’s published holdings. Ethereum accounts for about 18%, while BNB represents approximately 11%.

T. Rowe Price’s holdings data also shows exposure to Solana, XRP, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin, Stellar’s XLM, and the USDC stablecoin. The allocations place established crypto assets alongside newer tokens and a dollar-pegged asset within one actively managed product.

Active management separates TKNZ from passive crypto funds

T. Rowe Price said TKNZ is designed to capture market trends, momentum-led rallies, and rotations between crypto assets. Rather than maintaining fixed weights, the management team can change its positions when its models identify different opportunities or risks.

Blue Macellari, who has led T. Rowe Price’s digital asset work since 2022, serves as the fund’s portfolio manager, according to the company’s release. Four co-portfolio managers, notably Stefan Hubrich, David Kroger, Sean McWilliams, and Dante Pearson, support the strategy.

The fund’s structure also lets the team select assets from a larger approved pool. An updated filing listed 17 eligible tokens, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Avalanche, Litecoin, Polkadot, Dogecoin, Hedera, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink, Stellar, Shiba Inu, Sui, Hyperliquid, and BNB.

TKNZ carries a management fee of 0.75%, according to T. Rowe Price. The firm has introduced a net fee waiver that will remain in place until May 31, 2027, although the management fee will continue to apply during that period.

The fund also uses Anchorage Digital Bank as its crypto custodian, according to TKNZ market information published by The Block. T. Rowe Price Sponsor LLC serves as the sponsor, while T. Rowe Price Associates acts as administrator.

Balchunas sees calculated timing after the selloff

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas linked the launch schedule to the market correction that followed T. Rowe Price’s original filing in October 2025. The Securities and Exchange Commission later approved NYSE Arca’s proposal to list the fund in June 2026.

Commenting on the timing in an X post, Balchunas wrote:

“I think they were smart with the timing—waiting till the Oct selloff dust settled a bit.”

Balchunas had previously called the filing notable because T. Rowe Price was “by far the biggest active manager” to bring its portfolio-management experience into crypto. The firm managed roughly $1.9 trillion when the product secured regulatory clearance, according to reports covering the approval.

TKNZ enters a U.S. market that already includes several single-asset crypto ETFs, while new products tied to Ethereum, Solana, and Hyperliquid have continued to reach regulators. T. Rowe Price’s release positions active allocation, rather than exposure to one token, as the fund’s central difference.