Bitwise files to list bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca

Crypto asset manager Bitwise filed a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list its physically held bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca, the company announced Thursday. 

The bitcoin ETF has been a long-awaited darling of the cryptocurrency world, and a derivative some think could propel the market out of the doldrums and into bullish territory. Still, the SEC has pushed back on all bitcoin ETF applications thus far, citing concerns of manipulation in the underlying spot market. 

Bitwise says its product will be based on an index that draws data from large, trustworthy, exchanges. It also will hold bitcoins for the product with a regulated custodian, the firm said. The firm says those qualifications would address the concerns regulators have had about other proposals. 

“The SEC has asked thoughtful and relevant questions about the quality of the crypto trading ecosystem, the reliability of crypto pricing, the strength of the arbitrage function in crypto and the robustness of crypto custody,” Matt Hougan, Global Head of Research, who oversees the company's indexing efforts said in a news release. “We have spent the past year researching these questions and look forward to discussing those findings with the SEC staff in connection with the filing and listing application.”

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Elsewhere in the market, Gemini's Winklevoss twins confirmed their commitment to getting a bitcoin ETF off the ground during an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. The twins, who tried to get a fund tracking bitcoin approved in 2017, said they "are committed as ever to making an ETF a reality," according to a CoinTelegraph report. In Japan, regulators are looking into approving a potential ETF, as per a Bloomberg report

In Switzerland, traders went wild for a ETN product tracking cryptocurrency markets. The so-called Amun Crypto Basket ETP began trading on Switzerland’s Six Exchange at the end of 2018 and it quickly had the highest volumes of any exchange-traded product on the venue.

Bitwise also applied in July 2018 for the “HOLD 10 Cryptocurrency Index Fund”, which would be the first ETF to track multiple cryptocurrencies weighted by market cap.


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