If we may amend the list of life’s certainties: Death, taxes and, at least for now, 351 exchanges.

There’s been no shortage of interest from investors seeking to move appreciated stock assets into ETFs while deferring taxes. Alpha Architect, which has been the dominant player in the category, is currently seeding the fourth iteration in its 351 ETF US equity line, and it’s already preparing a fifth. “To the extent that the market wants cheap beta, and there’s enough demand for us to launch these things, we’ll keep doing it,” CEO and co-CIO Wesley Gray told ETF Upside.

Lower Minimums, More Service

Today, there are no fewer than 77 US ETFs that have been seeded with a total of nearly $17 billion via 351 exchanges, per an aggregated list from newsletter Tax Alpha Insider. Many of those funds were not designed with the sole purpose of attracting investors to the tax-friendly exchange, and the issuers likely offered the service to select clients who were a good fit. Others are ETFs subadvised by RIAs with sizable client accounts that transferred neatly to them, with the plumbing handled by Alpha Architect. That firm manages over $1 billion in assets for the few public-facing 351 ETFs it put its name on, and it has supported numerous products for other firms, Gray said. According to recent regulatory filings, that list includes funds for Ritholtz Wealth Management, Raub Brock Capital Management, Burke Wealth Management, and Cambria Investment Management.

“We’re basically the only firm in the world that does syndicated 351s,” he said. “It’s a process. You have to have every single independent client sign a piece of paper with the custodian, and they have to sign a representation letter … Cat-herding is a real thing.” A major part of Alpha Architect’s work, though, is helping major asset managers and RIA aggregators. “Most of the business is on the infrastructure side, where we’re launching these for big asset managers and RIAs,” he said.

Alpha Architect has several US equity 351 ETFs on the market and plans for more:

• Its US Equity ETF and US Equity 2 ETF, which launched last year, each represent more than $400 million, while the US Equity 3 ETF, which launched earlier this month, represents more than $300 million.
• The fourth iteration is set to launch July 23, and the firm recently filed a prospectus for the fifth version.
• Alpha Architect lowered its seed investment minimum to $150,000, but only for Charles Schwab accounts. Those custodied at Pershing have a $500,000 minimum, and all others require at least $1 million, Gray said.

Less Certain: The 351 exchange is not by any means mainstream, and use cases range from helping clients reduce their exposure to single stocks that have appreciated (there is a 25% limit by the IRS on any single stock exposure contributed to a 351 ETF) to moving old tax-loss harvesting portfolios. Even if they haven’t used 351s already, advisors can have them at the ready for specific clients who make a good fit, said Matt Nelson, managing partner at Perspective 6 Wealth Advisors. “We’re going to have the perfect scenario come up and will deploy it,” he said.

Still, there are concerns about the negative attention 351s have received in the media and scrutiny they may face from regulators and members of Congress, Nelson said. But regulators clamping down on bad actors will help the business, Gray said. “It’s good that the IRS is poking around a little bit,” he added. “We want them to, if people are going around the intent of a law.”

It’s more than just range anxiety.

Things weren’t looking great for the electric vehicle market as it is, with Trump administration policies taking away tax incentives and culling regulations that were hurdles to the oil industry. One major auto manufacturer, Honda, took a big step back from its EV plans, citing billions of losses stemming from its investments in the tech. Industrywide, new-car sales slumped, and EVs barely off the lot suffered dramatic depreciation, while company profits declined. But that was just a few weeks ago. Since then, the US and Israel have waged a war with Iran, and the most critical bottleneck for oil transport in the world has been closed.

Suddenly, the outlook for EVs, including a handful of exchange-traded funds focused on the market, may be improving. The Bloomberg Electric Vehicles Total Return Index, for example, was up 4% year to date as of Friday, compared with the S&P 500’s 7% decline. “Consumers will be reminded, going to the pump, that potentially EVs and hybrids are a way to mitigate not just short-term oil prices but also events out of our control,” KraneShares chief investment officer Brendan Ahern told ETF Upside.

Taking a Foot Off the Gas

The four US-domiciled ETFs focused on EVs have mostly fared better than the S&P 500 so far in 2026, but investors have nonetheless pulled money from those funds, to the tune of a collective $26 million. The war, and its effect on oil prices, may be a test of whether investors (and some automakers) were hasty in abandoning EVs. Currently, those four funds represent about $500 million, per data from Morningstar Direct, far less than the $1.7 billion in a pair of lithium and battery-technology funds that have some overlap with the EV market.

Here’s a look at those funds:

• The Global X Autonomous and Electric Vehicles ETFs (DRIV) is the largest, at $327 million, followed by the $146 million iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF (IDRV). Those funds have returned -3% and -4% year to date, respectively, and 34% and 22% over 12 months.
• Meanwhile, the $75 million KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF (KARS) has returned less than 1% year to date and 43% over 12 months. However, an Ireland-domiciled UCITs version of that fund is shutting down, having failed to attract assets. State Street’s $19 million SPDR S&P Kensho Smart Mobility ETF (HAIL) is down nearly 9% year to date but up 17% over 12 months.
• Separately, Global X’s $1.7 billion Lithium and Battery Tech ETF (LIT), which has pulled in about $62 million this year, is up 9% year to date and 79% over 12 months.

Hybrid Model: EV owners have been less affected by the energy price spikes, given that electricity costs are less volatile than those for hydrocarbons, Global X research analyst Madeline Ruid said. “There has been a noticeable jump in searches for both new and used [electric] vehicles since the start of the conflict in key auto markets such as the US and UK,” she told ETF Upside. There may also be more interest in hybrid vehicles, and consumers can now more easily justify the premium prices of new cars with battery power, she said. “Periods of high gas prices, even if it’s for a short timeframe, can still bring down the lifetime cost difference,” she said.

There are two types of people in this world: traditional finance investors and DeFi cryptoheads, and they don’t always see eye to eye.

Bitcoin is down roughly 25% year-to-date, fueling frustration in the crypto market. Some crypto purists blame exchange-traded funds, arguing they go against crypto’s decentralized spirit, shift focus to institutional players and introduce volatility. In February, investors pulled a record $3.3 billion from US spot-Bitcoin ETFs, Bloomberg reports, and critics argue those types of flows can exacerbate price changes more than retail trading. TradFi experts, however, say that’s a bunch of bologna and that without fund issuers and market makers, crypto likely wouldn’t be where it is today.

“If you have a lot of crypto in your account, you should be getting on your knees every morning and saying a nice thank-you prayer to [BlackRock CEO] Larry Fink and the rest of the ETF people,” said Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst, adding that ETFs have created a bridge for crypto to the regular world of finance. “The boomers, who have all the money, by the way, are starting to get invested,” he told a crowd of crypto industry folks at the Digital Asset Summit in New York City last week. “The wealth managers who control $50 trillion in the US, they trust ETFs.”

X Marks the Spot ETF

Crypto remains a relatively small asset class, with a global market cap of roughly $2.4 trillion, smaller than single companies like Nvidia or Apple, according to CoinGecko. Yet, ETFs have been major drivers of inflows and adoption:

• BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), launched in January 2024, has $54 billion in AUM and has become one of the most successful fund launches of all time.
• Advisor adoption is rising, too. About one-third of advisors invested in crypto for client accounts in 2025, up from 22% in 2024, and over half reported holding crypto personally. Crypto equity ETFs are expected to be advisors’ preference for crypto exposure in 2026.

“What’s happening is just a professionalization of the way in which investors are using crypto assets, and the development of that market infrastructure,” said Russell Barlow, CEO of 21Shares.

Be Realistic. ETFs are often used as a scapegoat, with detractors either saying they hurt market prices or artificially inflate them, said Will Peck, head of digital assets at WisdomTree. “It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how these ETFs work and the nature of the arbitrage mechanism,” he said.

Balchunas also reminded investors to moderate expectations. Not every year will mirror Bitcoin’s 2024 surge of over 120%. “You should hang out with a bond investor,” he said. “They’re happy with 4% a year.”