Rex Shares and Osprey Funds filed MOVE ETF listing applications with the SEC

Story from The Block: Investment managers Rex Shares and Osprey Funds have submitted applications to list the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking MOVE.

The announcement comes as Movement prepares to launch its mainnet beta.

The application submitted by Rex Shares and Osprey Funds aims to list an ETF that tracks MOVE, the native token of Movement, a relatively new Ethereum Layer 2 network. According to a prospectus filed Monday, the fund will invest 80% of its net assets in MOVE tokens or related derivatives, through the REX-OspreyTM MOVE subsidiary.

Rushi Manche, co-founder of Movement, said in a statement: "This application is not only a historic moment for Movement, but also a milestone for the entire Move ecosystem. Breaking ETF applications limited to long-lived cryptocurrencies opens the door for institutional capital to support next-generation blockchain innovations. ”

As with recently proposed ETFs that track altcoins such as XRP, SOL, and HEDERA, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will first need to recognize the application and then decide whether to allow it to trade. ETF issuer Rex Shares and crypto asset manager Osprey Funds have also previously submitted applications for assets such as BONK, DOGE, and $TRUMP (the official presidential meme coin).

Movement is an experimental blockchain that uses Meta's in-house developed MoveOS programming language for its defunct Diem stablecoin project, originally known as Libra. The development process has been criticized by some crypto industry players, in part due to the lack of transparency.

The Movement Network Foundation announced the launch of the Movement mainnet beta on November 30, but the testnet was not fully deployed until December 9. The team announced Remote Procedure Call (RPC) support for its testnet and mainnet on Saturday, and previously hinted that a full mainnet launch could take place as early as March 10. The beta version of Movement's public mainnet, released at the same time as the ETF, will receive $250 million in funding from the ecosystem "Project Cornucopia".

On Monday, X user @andy8052 joked, "This is the first chain to launch an ETF before users, revolutionary." ”

The Movement team has received some criticism for its apparent political stance, especially as many projects struggle to cater to the pro-crypto Trump administration. "Politics is the most important go-to-market strategy for crypto companies today," co-founder Rushi Manche wrote in a deleted post.

The unexpected launch of the Movement development network at the end of January sparked concern after World Liberty Financial, a DeFi startup linked to the Trump family, bought $2 million in MOVE tokens about 10 minutes before the Movement team's conversation with DOGE head Elon Musk about a potential blockchain integration was reported. Manche denied the allegations of "insider trading" at the time.

The SEC, where Mark T. Uyeda serves as acting chairman, has said it will take a more lenient approach to the crypto industry, but has yet to formally approve ETFs that track crypto assets other than Bitcoin and Ethereum.