T. Rowe Price Files Second Amendment for an Actively Managed Crypto ETF Covering Up to 15 Digital Assets

T. Rowe Price has submitted Amendment No. 2 for its proposed active crypto ETF to the SEC, refining the fund’s eligible asset list and operational structure as it works toward a listing on NYSE Arca.

The filing, dated March 16, 2026, marks another step in what has become an extended regulatory dialogue between one of Wall Street’s most established asset managers and a commission that has been methodically expanding its crypto ETF approvals over the past year.

What Makes This Fund Different

Most crypto ETFs approved to date are passive vehicles tracking a single asset. Bitcoin spot ETFs and Ethereum spot ETFs follow that model, simply holding the underlying asset and tracking its price. T. Rowe Price is proposing something structurally different. The fund would be actively managed, with portfolio managers making ongoing allocation decisions across a basket of between 5 and 15 crypto assets at any given time, with the stated goal of outperforming the FTSE Crypto US Listed Index.

Active management in crypto is a meaningful distinction. It means the fund is not just offering exposure to the asset class. It is offering a judgment call on which assets within that class deserve more weight at any given moment. That introduces manager risk alongside market risk, but it also allows the fund to rotate away from underperforming assets and toward emerging opportunities in ways that passive index products cannot.

The fund will invest exclusively in spot assets. No leverage, no derivatives. That structure keeps it within the regulatory framework that has proven acceptable to the SEC through the Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF approvals, while extending the underlying exposure significantly further.

The Asset Universe

The amendment confirms a broad list of eligible assets. Bitcoin / BTC, Ethereum / ETH, and Solana / SOL form the major asset tier. The altcoin layer includes XRP, Cardano / ADA, Avalanche / AVAX, Litecoin / LTC, and Polkadot / DOT. The filing also confirms eligibility for Chainlink / LINK, Stellar / XLM, Bitcoin Cash / BCH, Sui / SUI, and notably, Dogecoin / DOGE and Shiba Inu / SHIB.

The inclusion of DOGE and SHIB in a T. Rowe Price filing will attract attention. Both are assets that originated as meme-driven speculation and carry very different risk profiles from Bitcoin or Ethereum. Their inclusion in the eligible universe does not mean the fund will hold them, only that the portfolio manager has discretion to do so if the criteria are met. That discretion is precisely the point of active management, but it is a detail that will feature prominently in any regulatory back-and-forth about fund suitability.

The full eligible universe is described in the filing as assets meeting compliant commodity attributes, which is the structural framing that keeps the fund classified as a commodity-based trust rather than falling under the Investment Company Act. That distinction has significant regulatory implications for how the product is structured and supervised.

Where the Approval Process Stands

The SEC previously extended its review period beyond a deadline that had been noted for late February 2026. Amendment No. 2 reflects the ongoing dialogue between T. Rowe Price and regulators to refine the compliance framework rather than representing a final submission awaiting a binary approval decision.

Neither the ticker symbol nor the management fee has been disclosed, both are listed as TBD in the current filing. Those details typically emerge closer to a final approval, suggesting the fund is still navigating the substantive regulatory review rather than finalizing commercial terms.

The broader context matters here. The regulatory environment for crypto ETFs has shifted considerably since the Bitcoin spot ETF approvals in early 2024. The proposed CLARITY Act and ongoing stablecoin legislation, as covered in earlier reporting on Circle’s stock surge today, reflect a Congress and a commission that are engaging more constructively with digital asset regulation than at any prior point.

T. Rowe Price filing an active multi-asset crypto ETF would have been an unlikely proposition two years ago. The fact that it is in Amendment No. 2 of an SEC dialogue suggests the question is no longer whether this category of product gets approved, but when and under what conditions.

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