Bitwise Launches New Crypto Index Fund for Exposure Beyond Bitcoin

The world’s largest crypto index fund manager Bitwise Asset Management has launched its “Bitwise 10 ex Bitcoin Crypto Index Fund,” which is the first large-cap crypto index fund to provide investors exposure to developments in cryptomarket beyond bitcoin. 

The new fund aims to address investor demand for exposure into other cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin, the company said. As bitcoin’s share of the total market capitalization has fallen in the past year, other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Cardano and Solana have grown in size and importance, it said. 

“Most investors and most people encounter bitcoin first,” Hunter Horsley, CEO and co-founder of Bitwise said in an interview with Blockworks. “But most people, after they wrap their head around bitcoin, become excited about the potential for everything else (in crypto),” Horsley added. 

The company is best known for managing the world’s largest and longest-running crypto index fund (OTCQX: BITW) as well as the world’s first DeFi index Fund, formally known as the Bitwise DeFi Crypto Index Fund. 

Bitwise has over $1.3 billion in assets under management as of August 31 and shared a valuation of over $500 million as of mid-June when it closed a $70 million Series B funding round, Blockworks previously reported. 

“This launch is being driven by customer demand,” said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise. “Many investors today have exposure to bitcoin but are excited by the dynamic developments taking place around other assets. That’s particularly true for professional investors, who value the utility these assets offer. This new fund allows investors to complement their existing bitcoin exposure with a professionally managed solution that captures other large-cap crypto assets,” Hougan added.

The Bitwise 10 ex Bitcoin Crypto Index Fund consists of nine of the 10 cryptocurrencies that make up the over $1 billion flagship Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, excluding bitcoin. The constituents for the fund are Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink, Litecoin, Uniswap, Polygon and Stellar. 

The nine cryptocurrencies range in market capitalization from $8 billion to $427 billion, and include many of the assets that play a role in the emerging crypto spaces of DeFi, smart contract, and NFT ecosystems, Bitwise said. 

The fund follows a formal methodology and is weighted by market cap in addition to screening around liquidity, custody and regulatory risks, among other elements. 

Additionally, the fund’s assets are custodied with Coinbase Custody Trust Company, which is the world’s largest crypto custodian. 

The new fund is available to accredited investors as a private placement, and comes in two share classes: Investor Shares, which have a $25,000 minimum and charge a 2.5% expense ratio, and Institutional Shares, which have a $1,000,000 minimum and charge a 2.0% expense ratio.

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