Bitwise, the asset management firm, has publicly disclosed the addresses of its Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) following approximately two weeks of trading.
As of January 24th, the firm revealed that the holdings of its Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, trading as BITB on the New York Stock Exchange Arca, can now be verified by anyone. The disclosed address currently holds 11,858.63 BTC, equivalent to approximately $465 million.
Bitwise Industries emphasized the significance of on-chain transparency in line with Bitcoin's ethos and stated that the publication of on-chain addresses marks an initial step towards enhancing public transparency for BITB.
On January 10, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted approval to Bitwise for its spot Bitcoin ETF, marking a significant development along with approvals for 10 other applications from various asset management firms.
While the SEC's decision opens the door for increased participation in the cryptocurrency market, the extent to which other companies will follow Bitwise's lead in disclosing BTC addresses for their investment products remains uncertain.
Bitwise's co-founder and CEO, Hunter Horsley, revealed that the decision to release the Bitcoin (BTC) address was prompted by clear feedback from investors.
ETF analyst James Seyffart highlighted that Bitwise's move to post the Bitcoin address for BITB is groundbreaking. Coingabbar also emphasized that Bitwise is the first but likely not the last to adopt this transparency measure.
Within approximately seven days of its launch, BITB managed to secure a position in the top 5% of ETFs based on assets under management in 2023. Despite this success, the broader market for spot BTC ETFs experienced around $76 million in net outflows on the seventh day of trading. Notably, Grayscale's GBTC led with the largest net outflows during this period.
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