Bitwise Plans to Seed Spot Bitcoin ETF With $200 Million, SEC Filing Shows

Bitwise has revealed in an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a plan to seed its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with $200 million. This significantly exceeds Blackrock’s $10 million seed commitment for its spot Bitcoin ETF that’s planned for Jan. 3.

Bitwise’s $200 Million Plan to Seed Spot Bitcoin ETF

Bitwise is one of the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applicants that submitted an amended filing (S-1) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday. Once launched, Bitwise’s spot bitcoin ETF will trade under the ticker symbol BITB.

According to the firm’s filing with the SEC, an unnamed entity “has indicated an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to $200 million of shares in this offering from authorized participants or in the marketplace through broker-dealers.” Commenting on the asset manager’s filing, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out on social media platform X:

Bitwise S-1 has been filed and it looks like someone (I wonder who) is going to seed BITB with $200m, which blows away Blackrock’s $10m (that we know of). That’s gonna be huge help in early days of race.

However, Bitwise cautioned: “Because indications of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, this potential purchaser could determine to purchase more, fewer or no shares.”

Last week, Blackrock revealed in an amended filing with the SEC a plan to seed its spot bitcoin ETF with $10 million on Jan. 3.

Earlier this month, Bitwise unveiled 10 crypto predictions for 2024, including its expectation for bitcoin to trade above $80,000. The asset manager also believes that “spot bitcoin ETFs will be approved, and collectively they will be the most successful ETF launch of all time.” Moreover, Bitwise expects spot bitcoin ETFs to “capture 1% of the $7.2 trillion U.S. ETF market, or $72 billion in AUM.”

What do you think about Bitwise planning to seed its spot bitcoin ETF with $200 million? Let us know in the comments section below.