A subsidiary of New York-headquartered investment management firm VanEck has introduced a new fund focused exclusively on meme coins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB).
Dubbed the MarketVector meme coin index (MEMECOIN), the fund was introduced by MarketVector, a VanEck subsidiary specializing in digital assets.
MEMECOIN Index to Track Shiba Inu
The index tracks the performance of Shiba Inu and five other meme coins such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk (BONK), Pepe (PEPE), and Floki (FLOKI).
MarketVector selected the meme coins based on their market capitalization. Notably, the disclosed plans to review the list on a monthly basis.
To mitigate risks and foster diversification, MarketVector capped the weightings of the assets in the index at 30%.
While Shiba Inu has a weighting of 28.01%, Dogecoin’s weighting is 30.64%. The other assets in the index, such as PEPE, WIF, FLOKI, and BONK, hold weightings of 14.18%, 13.29%, 7.17%, and 6.21%, respectively.
MEMECOIN Ranks as Best-Performer on MarketVector
The MEMECOIN index has attracted the interest of crypto enthusiasts following its outstanding performance since its launch. Wu Blockchain said the MEMECOIN fund is the best-performing index on MarketVector, yielding a return of 137.96% since this year.
MarketVecto, a subsidiary of American asset management giant VanEck, launched the Meme Coin Index, including Dogecoin (30.77%), Shiba Inu (28.34%), Pepe (14.51%), dogwifhat (12.54%), Floki Inu (7.14%) and BONK (6.7%) ). The Meme Coin Index has returned 137.96% so far this year,… pic.twitter.com/7QeecKTbTx
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 9, 2024
While the incredible performance of the MEMECOIN index may look enticing to many investors, MarketVector clarified that the rationale behind the fund was for entertainment purposes.
This disclaimer takes into perspective the volatile nature of meme coins, which are usually prone to massive price swings.
A Potential Shiba Inu ETF?
Meanwhile, the development sparked enthusiasm within different meme coin communities, including Shiba Inu. For many Shiba Inu proponents, the move takes the leading canine-themed token closer to having its spot-based exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Recall that following the introduction of multiple Bitcoin ETFs in January, Shiba Inu community members embarked on an online campaign to push for a dedicated fund for SHIB.
In particular, they petitioned Grayscale Investments on Change.org to consider applying with the U.S. SEC for a Shiba Inu ETF. Despite the petition garnering over 9,300 signatures, Grayscale has yet to respond to the request.