He notes that Amplify “stumbled onto blockchain” as an offshoot of the work done with its Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY), where some of that fund’s holdings—including Overstock.com, Amazon.com and Alibaba—have their own blockchain initiatives.
“We got up to speed on this as we listened to conference calls and looked at the future initiatives [in blockchain] these companies are doing,” Magoon says. “We saw blockchain as a natural growth extension on our online retail fund.”