Bitwise launches new bitcoin-linked ETF

Bitwise has launched the Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF (BITC) to offer long-term investors regulated exposure to bitcoin (BTC). The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved any spot bitcoin ETF. 

Barely four months after signaling plans to expand its fund offerings and assembling its active strategies team of industry experts led by Jeffrey Park, Bitwise, one of the world’s largest crypto asset managers, has launched a new type of bitcoin futures ETF dubbed the Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF (BITC).

Per a press release by the firm, the BITC strategy, which takes advantage of decades of research in commodities pricing, is designed to help long-term investors cushion the adverse effects of contango by “investing selectively in bitcoin futures across the entire futures curve.”

Contango is a scenario whereby the futures price of a given commodity exceeds its spot price. It tends to trigger losses for commodity ETF investors.

Bitwise has clarified that its new BITC ETF will offer investors regulated, professionally managed exposure to bitcoin with minimal pricing inefficiencies associated with BTC-linked ETFs based on front-month or near-month futures contracts.

“If there’s anything this past year has reinforced, it’s that how you invest in crypto is as important as what you invest in. The Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF gives institutions, advisors, and their clients a professional, regulated solution for adding exposure to bitcoin returns, while eliminating the risk of holding bitcoin directly or investing through novel platforms.”

Bitwise CEO, Hunter Hosley

US regulators still wary of spot bitcoin ETF 

While regulatory watchdogs across nation-states like Canada, Australia, and others have approved the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in recent times, the US continues to lag behind in this area, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is yet to greenlight any spot bitcoin ETF filing in the region despite efforts by countless highly reputed market participants including Ark Investment Management, VanEck, Grayscale, WisdomTree, and others.

The dreaded regulator, which recorded a 50% increase in enforcement actions against crypto market participants last year, is often criticized for its somewhat harsh regulatory approach towards crypto.

As reported by crypto.news in January, Grayscale condemned the SEC’s refusal to approve the conversation of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot ETF, describing the regulator’s decision as “illogical.”