Due to investor interest in capitalizing on the recent pullback in cryptocurrencies, Bitwise Asset Management has introduced two new private placement funds that invest in bitcoin and ether exclusively. The two new funds join the manager’s first fund, the Bitwise 10 Private Index Fund, launched about a year ago.
November was the worst month for cryptocurrencies in more than seven years, Bitwise said. Year-to-date, the price of bitcoin, with a current market cap of nearly $66 billion, is down 73 percent, while Ethereum, with a market cap of $10.8 billion, is down 86 percent this year.
“The 68 percent drawdown in bitcoin prices this year has given investors a unique opportunity to enter the market at prices many thought we’d never see again,” Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said in a statement. “Though an ETF has not yet been approved, investors and advisors like the fund format because it’s professionally managed and simplifies access to best-in-class custody, trading, reporting and tax preparation, and allows for the safe capture of events like hard forks and airdrops.”
Bitwise filed a registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a cryptocurrency exchange traded fund this summer.
The new Bitwise Bitcoin Fund and Bitwise Ethereum Fund are open to accredited investors. They’re available in the Institutional share class, with an all-in expense ratio of 1 percent and minimum investment of $1 billion or an investor share class that charges 1.5 percent and has a minimum investment of $25,000. They provide weekly liquidity, and there are no lockups, withdrawal fees or performance fees, the firm said.
They join the manager’s Bitwise HOLD 10 Index Fund, a market cap-weighted index of the 10 largest cryptocurrencies that captures approximately 80 percent of the total market capitalization.