Bitwise Asset Management, the leading provider of crypto index funds, announced that its Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust (BITB) was approved as an investment option for a $30 billion network of Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) in the United States.
The news was revealed by Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Feb. 19. He said that advisors within the network are now authorized to allocate funds with BITB, typically ranging from 1% to 5% of their portfolios.
“BITB was selected and approved for full access to advisors at a $30 billion nation-wide RIA on Friday, one of the largest in the country,” Horsley tweeted.
He added that he was excited to help these advisors navigate the crypto space and offer their clients exposure to Bitcoin, the largest and most liquid cryptocurrency.
However, he did not disclose the name of the RIA network, citing confidentiality reasons.
BITB is one of the several spot Bitcoin ETFs that launched in the US in late 2023, after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally approved the long-awaited products. BITB tracks the performance of Bitcoin based on the Bitwise Bitcoin Index, which uses prices from multiple regulated exchanges and incorporates various quality and security measures.
Since its debut, BITB has quickly attracted investors, becoming one of the fastest ETFs in history to surpass the $1 billion mark in assets under management (AUM). As of Feb. 19, BITB had over $1.2 billion in AUM, according to Bitwise’s website.
BITB has also received praise from the crypto community, especially for its transparent disclosure of its on-chain addresses, which allows anyone to verify the amount of Bitcoin held by the fund. This feature sets BITB apart from other Bitcoin ETFs, which do not reveal their custody details.
Among the recently launched spot Bitcoin ETFs, Bitwise’s offering holds a prominent position, trailing behind BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC), and Ark and 21 Shares ETF, according to data from HeyApollo, a crypto analytics platform.
The approval of BITB by a large RIA network is a testament to the growing demand and acceptance of Bitcoin as an asset class among institutional investors. It also reflects Bitwise’s reputation and expertise in the crypto industry, as the firm has been offering crypto index funds since 2017.
Bitwise currently manages over $2 billion in crypto assets across its various products, including the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW), the Bitwise DeFi Crypto Index Fund (BITD), and the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ).
Source: https://azcoinnews.com/bitwise-bitcoin-etf-trust-gets-green-light-from-30-billion-ria-network.html