U.S SEC Approves Bitwise's Bid to Convert BITW Crypto Index Fund to ETF, Halts Decision Immediately

TL;DR

• The SEC approved Bitwise’s application to convert its BITW Crypto Index Fund to an ETF.

• However, the regulator immediately paused the decision.

SEC Approves and Pauses Bitwise’s Crypto Index Fund Conversion

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved, then immediately halted, Bitwise’s plan to convert its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The fund currently holds 90% of its weight in Bitcoin and Ether, with the remaining 10% spread across several cryptocurrencies, including Solana, XRP, Cardano, Avalanche, Chainlink, Bitcoin Cash, Uniswap, and Polkadot. It currently has over $1.6 billion in assets under management.

Bitwise, one of the leading digital asset managers, launched the BITW fund in 2017. If the SEC removes the pause, BITW would become the first multi-asset crypto index ETF in the U.S. The fund currently has a 2.5% expense ratio, but Bitwise is yet to disclose of the fee would remain the same after its conversion to an ETF. 

This is not the first time the SEC made such a move. The regulator approved Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC), which tracks BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA before reversing its decision.