Bitwise Sets Precedent with Spot Bitcoin ETF Transparency

9 months ago 3

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Asset management firm Bitwise disclosed that its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings and flows are visible directly to the public.

This has sparked speculation in the crypto community about whether other recently approved spot Bitcoin ETF applicants will adopt a similar transparent approach.

Bitwise Claims to be the First to Make Significant Disclosures

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the investment firm declared itself as the inaugural asset management firm among the recently approved spot Bitcoin ETF applicants to provide this level of disclosure:

“Today the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) becomes the first U.S. bitcoin ETF to publish the bitcoin addresses of its holdings.”

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applicants on January 10. One of them is the largest asset manager in the world, BlackRock, with over $9 trillion of assets under management.

This came after a lengthy and intricate review process between the regulator and asset management firms.

Bitwise Suggests More Transparent Bitcoin ETF Moves Are Coming

However, Bitwise elaborates that this marks just the start of its efforts to increase confidence in the Bitcoin market.

“Publishing on-chain addresses is a first step toward increasing public transparency. As infrastructure evolves, we hope to do more.”

Despite the crypto market facing extensive negative press in recent years, the community was in favor of Bitwise’s latest move.

Meanwhile, many eluded it will lead the way for other asset management firms to do the same.

Samson Mow responded by saying “well done on leading the way,” meanwhile Bitcoin analyst The Rational Root claimed that he sent an inquiry pushing for this “but didn’t expect such fast results.”

This follows recent news that Bitwise will be donating 10% of all its profits from its spot Bitcoin ETF back into the industry.

Just one day after the spot Bitcoin ETF approval, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley announced his intention to support Bitcoin developers. This is to ensure they can continue their crucial work for the industry.

“Bitcoin was launched 15 years ago without a fundraise and has always been maintained by a dedicated community of open source developers.”