ETC Group and HANetf have announced a partnership that has brought Europe's first metaverse ETF, which has since been listed on the London Stock Exchange. Dubbed the ETC Group Global Metaverse UCITS ETF, the metaverse ETF will be available for trading with METR as its ticker symbol. The new metaverse ETF will track the Solactive ETC Group Global Metaverse Index, an asset repository that currently offers exposure to 51 firms in the metaverse firm. These companies are actively engaged in metaverse sectors involving VR/AR, 3D graphics, semiconductors, wireless communications, online gaming, video streaming, blockchain technologies including NFTs, as well as cloud and data storage for Web3 applications. Solactive is a cutting-edge index provider that uses leading alternative data and methods such as artificial intelligence an calculation engines to bolster the development of custom indexes. To date, the metaverse market is estimated to be roughly $12 trillion in size, according to aggregated industry data from Goldman Sachs. "The Metaverse has been hard for investors to avoid. It has gone from an obscure, theoretical idea to being variously described as everything from the evolution of virtual reality to the next iteration of the internet," shares Bradley Duke, founder and co-CEO of ETC Group. As Europe's first metaverse ETF (exchange-traded fund), ETC Group's METR comes in as the second thematic ETF collaboration between the firm and HANetf. The latter is an independent provider of UCITS ETFs, while ETC is active in the development of digital asset-backed securities. The partner firms have also launched the ETC Group Digital Assets & Blockchain Equity UCITS ETF (ticker symbol: KOIN), which provides pure-play exposure to digital assets and blockchain ecosystem companies. "Progressing technology and rising computation power are reshaping our daily lives. We are starting to see unimaginable worlds in virtual spaces, and the Metaverse is the next stage of this landscape," shares Solactive CMO Timo Pfeiffer. The news follows a similar set of strategies deployed in the Asian region, with Hong Kong's own stock exchange launching a metaverse-themed fund back in February 21st. Dubbed the CSOP Metaverse Concept ETF, the fund sports a portfolio of top global technology firms including Meta, Roblox, Nvidia, Unity, Apple, Snap, AMD, Qualcomm, Sony, and Tencent. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.