Planned crypto ETF fleet grows after options milestone

Bitwise on Tuesday filed an S-1 for an ETF that would hold both bitcoin and ether, nearly half a year after Hashdex plotted a similar product

article-image

Bitwise Asset Management CEO Hunter Horsley | Mike Lawrence for Blockworks

share


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


First came the SEC’s approval of US spot bitcoin ETFs in January. Then, ether fund launches in July. 

In November alone, crypto-friendly Donald Trump (and a slew of segment-friendly congressional candidates) won their races for office. Options on the BTC ETFs started trading and Gary Gensler said he would step down from his SEC chair post in January. 

These events have contributed to momentum around even more crypto ETF filings, and it might not slow down anytime soon. Let’s review the latest:

Bitwise on Tuesday filed an S-1 for an ETF that would hold both bitcoin and ether. That comes nearly half a year after Hashdex plotted a similar product. And about two weeks after Bitwise revealed plans to convert its index fund (holding 10 crypto assets) to an ETF. 

Also over the past week, ETF issuer First Trust revealed its intention to launch bitcoin-focused defined-outcome (aka buffer) funds that protect against losses while capping upside.

Loading Tweet..

Around the same time as the First Trust filings, Calamos Investments filed for 14 bitcoin buffer ETFs and Innovator ETFs shared its own plans for various BTC-related offerings.

And we shouldn’t forget Grayscale’s amended ETF filing for a Bitcoin Covered Call ETF that came when options on the US spot bitcoin ETFs got final regulatory approval.

These filings are not exactly surprising. In fact, The ETF Store president Nate Geraci noted in a September X post to expect a “flurry” of new ETF plans once options trading on spot BTC funds started. He specifically predicted buffer and covered call strategies, among others.  

Fast forward, and Geraci argued Monday that bitcoin volatility is “a huge feature, not a bug in context of portfolio construction.”

“But ETF issuers will offer every strategy under the sun to try [and] minimize that vol,” he added.

Beyond the more complex planned funds that would offer differentiated exposure to bitcoin, firms continue trying to break new ground in terms of which crypto assets can be held directly in the ETF wrapper.   

Following up on Bitwise’s solana ETF plans last week, WisdomTree — a fund group with more than $100 billion assets under management — registered with the state of Delaware for an XRP fund. It appears to have joined Bitwise, 21Shares and Canary Capital in trying to launch such an ETF.

While the SEC could mull the solana and XRP ETF filings for 240 days, we may see the bitcoin ETFs that use options strategies start trading much sooner.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

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

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent low-hanging fruit in a massive market ripe for Web3-driven disruption. The global CDN market was valued at ~$28B in 2024, and is projected to surpass $140B by 2034, (18.75% CAGR) underscoring the immense demand for efficient content delivery.

article-image

Sponsored

Injective is not waiting for the future of finance. It is bringing it directly to us, today.

article-image

Bitcoin has been bullish for nearly 1,000 days

article-image

Robinhood announced that it’s building an L2 and also plans to launch staking for US users

article-image

“We’re not really doing anything controversial,” said co-founder Zak Folkman at Permissionless last week

article-image

Why equities are more stable than in past decades, plus advice from Peter Lynch

article-image

As Permissionless speakers talk on-chain RWA potential, tokenized stock platform Dinari secures FINRA broker-dealer approval