Fundraise, ‘open-minded’ SEC to fuel Bitwise growth

Bitwise essentially has three investment buckets that it hopes to grow, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said

article-image

Bitwise Asset Management CEO Hunter Horsley | DAS 2022 New York

share


This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


You may have seen one of the biggest crypto asset managers just raise $70 million as part of a push to broaden its offerings.

That would be Bitwise, which seeks expansion as more institutions enter the space and the SEC signals increased open-mindedness.

I caught up with CEO Hunter Horsley, who said the company expects to boost headcount from about 100 to roughly 130 this year. On the product front, it looks to not only bring more ETFs, but a slate of custom solutions.

Bitwise essentially has three investment buckets that it hopes to grow, Horsley explained. Its “beta” offerings are those most people know about (i.e. its crypto index fund, as well as the bitcoin and ether ETFs).

As part of its onchain solutions bucket, the firm offers non-custodial institutional staking via its acquisition of Attestant in November. And finally, there are Bitwise’s so-called alpha strategies.      

The latter category involves custom SMAs for large institutional clients, for example. 

“There’s a growing interest amongst owners of bitcoin to explore if there are ways to make their holdings productive and generate income or yield with that bitcoin,” Horsley explained. 

Bitwise and other fund groups have proposals in front of the SEC to launch ETFs that hold assets beyond BTC and ETH. Feel free to refresh yourself here and here.

Horsley said Bitwise successfully uplisting its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (if cleared to do so) would mark one of the biggest developments of the year. That ~$1.2 billion trust became the world’s first crypto index fund in 2017. 

“A lot of investors are not going to build a portfolio of seven different single-coin ETFs,” he told me. “I think many, as they continue to explore beyond bitcoin, are interested in an index solution.”

Conversations Bitwise has had with the SEC after Trump’s inauguration are “more constructive,” Horsley said, calling the shift “a night-and-day change.” 

He declined to speculate on the agency’s possible timeline in approving crypto ETFs beyond those holding BTC and ETH, but noted the SEC’s clear “openness to a broader set of things.”

Finally, I asked about how client conversations might have shifted since bitcoin’s latest plummet

Horsley noted the vibes from some individuals/traders are “somewhat bearish and maybe a little bit fearful” — particularly those with exposure to small- and mid-cap cryptos.

As for mainstream investment pros, he said: “I think there is more interest, including this week, than ever before.”

After all, Horsley added: “Bitcoin having volatility is not a new phenomenon.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

morpho 2 graphic.png

Research

Utilizing a ‘DeFi Mullet’ approach, Coinbase’s Bitcoin-backed loans integration with Morpho demonstrates a powerful blueprint for CEXs to monetize dormant assets by expanding adoption of wrapped products (cbBTC, USDC) while also supporting native and/or preferred DeFi ecosystems (Base) which can further lead to downstream growth in onchain liquidity and increased utilization of the related assets.

article-image

The platform also rolled out 13 tokenized funds for institutions on the Connect platform

article-image

The company’s expanded lineup introduces new ETF products, as more and more issuers get into crypto funds

article-image

President Donald Trump announced a 10% levy on almost all goods and additional tariffs on so-called “worst offending” countries

article-image

Solana may be in “recomposition” mode, as new protocols put usefulness ahead of mere virality

article-image

The stablecoin issuer will have to contend with bigger players and the interest rates environment

article-image

The president reportedly was still working on his tariff policy plans late Tuesday evening