Bitwise Asset Management, the largest crypto index fund manager in America, announced today that the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), the firm’s first spot bitcoin ETF, intends to begin trading today, January 11th.
BITB will join Bitwise’s comprehensive suite of 18 crypto investment products, which currently includes five other crypto ETFs.
“We expect significant demand for bitcoin ETFs like BITB. Every year for the past six years, financial advisors have identified ETFs as their preferred way to help clients access bitcoin. Last year, 64% of financial advisors preferred a spot bitcoin ETF over existing vehicles. Across our existing client base of thousands of investment professionals, we hear the same thing. Now, at long last, a spot bitcoin ETF is arriving.”
– Bitwise CEO, Hunter Horsley
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF will trade on NYSE Arca under the ticker BITB. The management fee will be 0.20%, with the fee set to 0% for the first six months on the first $1 billion in assets. The fund will hold bitcoin directly with regulated digital asset custodian, Coinbase Custody. BITB’s auditor is KPMG, the administrator is Bank of New York Mellon, and the sponsor is Bitwise Investment Advisers.
Backing Open-Source Developers
In conjunction with the launch, Bitwise announced that the firm will donate 10% of BITB’s profits to three non-profit organizations that fund Bitcoin open-source development: Brink, OpenSats, and the Human Rights Foundation’s Bitcoin Development Fund.
These organizations fund open-source developers who play a critical role in improving the security, scalability, and usability of the Bitcoin network. The donations will be made annually for at least the next 10 years to further support the health and advancement of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
“Bitcoin is fundamentally open-source software,” said Bitwise Chief Technology Officer Hong Kim. “Both Bitwise and our clients have a vested interest in its ongoing development, and supporting these organizations is a direct way to contribute to that.”
Founded in 2017, Bitwise is currently a partner to more than 1,800 advisor teams, RIAs, family offices, and institutions. This number has doubled in the last two years.
For more information on BITB, and to read the fund’s prospectus, click here.