Bitwise Asset Management, a provider of cryptocurrency index funds to professional investors, today announced that shares of its 10 Crypto Index Fund will begin public trading on the over-the-counter (OTC) market under the ticker symbol BITW.
“This is a historic moment for the crypto space. We've been working on this for almost a year,” the company said.
The Fund debuts with about $120 million in assets under management and will be tradable through traditional brokerage accounts, the announcement said.
Hunter Horsley, co-founder and CEO of Bitwise Asset Management, said the unprecedented events of 2020 have motivated many to invest in crypto for the first time. “With BITW, investors can now get exposure to bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies without trying to pick winners or having to constantly monitor the rapid changes in the space,” he said in a statement.
The fund will track the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index, a diversified, market-cap-weighted index of the 10 largest crypto assets. Index constituents are screened for liquidity, custody, and other risks, and rebalanced monthly. They represent approximately 80% of the market. As of Nov. 30, the fund held approximately 75% bitcoin and 13% ethereum, with the remaining 12% allocated across XRP, litecoin, chainlink, tezos, and other cryptocurrencies, the announcement said.
It added that on a year-to-date basis through Nov. 30, the fund was up 184%, outperforming a stand-alone position in bitcoin.
The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund is an open-ended, publicly traded statutory trust, not an exchange-traded fund or closed-end fund. Accredited investors may create shares of the fund at net asset value (NAV) through private placement, the release said.