Bangkok-based MFC Asset Management ( MFC AM ) has launched Thailand’s first exchange-traded fund ( ETF ) investing in ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, after bitcoin.

The METHETF-UI fund, had an initial public offering from February 18 to 27, and is only available for sale to institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth investors.

The decision to offer the fund, says Thanachot Rungsittiwat, MFC AM’s managing director, follows the success of MFC AM’s bitcoin ETF, which was launched in 2024. That fund, called MBTCETF-UI, has since seen overwhelming demand, according the asset manager, reaching a fund size of 10 billion baht ( US$296.38 million ) as of February.

However, the company points out, the METHETF-UI fund’s objective is to invest through direct peer-to-peer trading of the digital currency through a digital asset investment platform.

The highlight of the fund, Thanachot adds, is that it allows investors to access ethereum investments through the stock market by investing in a master fund that focuses on direct investment.

Ethereum, launched in 2015 by Russian-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin and known for its versatile blockchain technology, has led to decentralized finance applications, as well as stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency asset that ties its value to a reserve asset.

The METHETF-UI fund is a US dollar-denominated feeder fund, which will invest at least 80% of its net asset value in the BlackRock-managed iShares Ethereum Trust ETF listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Minimum initial investment in the fund is pegged at 1,000 baht ( US$29.69 ).