Bitwise Become First Bitcoin ETF Issuer to Disclose Addresses, Holds $453M in BTC

Crypto index fund manager Bitwise has led the way by becoming the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer to publicly reveal its Bitcoin address holdings. The move comes about two weeks after the products were made available for trading.

Bitwise Holds $453M in BTC

In a Wednesday post on X (formerly Twitter), the firm disclosed that its trust (BITB) currently holds about $453 million in Bitcoin. The San Francisco-based digital asset manager noted that the decision to reveal its digital wallet addresses is aimed at enhancing transparency and fostering trust. 

“Now anyone can verify BITB’s holdings and flows directly on the blockchain. Onchain transparency is core to Bitcoin’s ethos. We’re proud to walk the walk with BITB. Publishing on-chain addresses is a first step toward increasing public transparency. As infrastructure evolves, we hope to do more, such as working with firms like the Hoseki app to provide real-time cryptographic attestations”, the firm said.

Through this move of publishing its Bitcoin address holdings, Bitwise aims to position itself at the forefront of regulatory compliance and investor communication. The firm’s willingness to disclose this information can be viewed as a demonstration of its commitment to addressing concerns related to the verification of asset backing, building credibility for Bitcoin investment products and setting an industry standard.

Bitwise’s Spot Bitcoin ETF

Bitwise is one of the several spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) issuers that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially  gave approval earlier this month to offer the product to American investors. On the first day of trading, the asset manager saw around $238 million of inflows. Last week, the firm’s CEO Hunters Horsley revealed a $370 million in assets under management (AUM) within its inaugural four days of trading.

Additionally, the company pledged earlier this month to allocate 10% of profits from the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) towards supporting Bitcoin open-source development. 

Although the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) has seen billions of dollars in trading volume, the price of the Bitcoin has been performing contrary to several predictions before the approval of the ETFs. According to price tracking platform Coinstats, the crypto asset currently trades at $39,897, which represents a 1.46% increase in the last 24 hours.