Despite Crypto Winter, Bitwise Files for Bitcoin Futures ETFs in the US: Report – CryptoPotato

More than a year after the first Bitcoin futures ETF went live in the United States, Bitwise has requested the launch of its own such product.

This comes despite the ongoing bear market, which has seen prices decline and investor interest evaporate.

• Citing a filing with US regulators, the Bloomberg report informed that Bitwise’s product will be called Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Yield ETF, under the ticker symbol BITC.
• Similar to previously approved ETFs in the US, this one will not hold the asset directly. Instead, it would offer managed exposure to BTC futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) as well as investments in short-term debt securities.

BITC’s strategy is designed such that instead of its futures contracts automatically switching to the next available contract based on a predefined schedule, it would switch to the one that “has the highest implied rolling yield in the current market conditions”. – reads the report.

• The first Bitcoin futures ETF was approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in October last year and generated trading volumes of over $1 billion in its first day.
• A few more ETFs of this type hit the market over the following months. However, the market situation was entirely different back then.
• Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto assets were rising high, charting ATHs frequently, and interest in the industry was much more evident.
• Most assets are now down 90% from their respective highs. Demand is lower, which calls into question the timing of Bitwise’s filing.