Bitwise Launches World’s First DeFi Index Fund
San Francisco • February 17, 2021
The new fund is open today (Feb. 17), enabling accredited investors to gain diversified exposure to the fast-growing sector.
Bitwise Asset Management, creator of the world’s largest crypto index fund, the $800 million AUM Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (OTCQX: BITW), today announced the launch of the Bitwise DeFi Crypto Index Fund.
Decentralized finance (“DeFi”) refers to the emerging category of digital, peer-to-peer financial services technologies that enable trading, loans, interest accounts, and more. Using public blockchains and cryptoassets rather than legacy systems, DeFi services aim to cut out traditional Wall Street intermediaries, allowing for the potential to facilitate faster operation, 24/7 availability, no minimums or paperwork, full transparency, and auditability.
“DeFi is the story of 2021,” said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer for Bitwise Asset Management. “The growth and activity in the market is incredible. Today there are decentralized trading venues handling over $30 billion in volume per month; automated lending programs making individual loans as large as $200 million; and the total estimated value of funds currently locked into DeFi-related contracts recently crossed $40 billion.”
The new Bitwise fund holds a portfolio of cryptoassets that power these DeFi services, and seeks to track the Bitwise Decentralized Finance Crypto Index. Holdings are screened for important risks, weighted by market capitalization, and rebalanced monthly.
The formal index methodology is public, and is overseen and adjusted on an ongoing basis by the Bitwise Crypto Index Committee.
The Bitwise Crypto Index Committee is supported by the Bitwise Decentralized Finance Advisory Council, a group of industry-leading DeFi experts who provide insights on the emerging sector.
The Advisory Council features:
Michael Anderson, Managing Partner, Framework Ventures
Ben Forman, Managing Partner, ParaFi Capital
Avichal Garg, Managing Partner, Electric Capital
Aleks Larsen, Venture Investor, Blockchain Capital
Scott Lewis, Founder, DeFi Pulse
Initial constituents and weights of the Index as of 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 16, 2021, were:
| Asset | Ticker | Category | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uniswap | UNI | Exchange | 25.14% |
| Aave | AAVE | Lending | 23.37% |
| Synthetix | SNX | Derivatives | 11.80% |
| Maker | MKR | Lending | 10.67% |
| Compound | COMP | Lending | 8.73% |
| UMA | UMA | Derivatives | 6.16% |
| Yearn.Finance | YFI | Asset Management | 5.47% |
| Ox | ZRX | Exchange | 5.07% |
| Loopring | LRC | Exchange | 3.60% |
The Fund’s expense ratio is 2.5%, which includes costs related to custody, tax, accounting, and management fees. In the future, the fund may seek to facilitate public trading of shares in a secondary market.
The fund is now available to accredited investors as a private placement, and is open for subscriptions at www.bitwiseinvestments.com.
Risk Disclosure and Important Information
Forward-Looking Statements: This communication includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical information provided herein are forward-looking and may contain information about known uncertainties. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “should,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” and “anticipates” and the negative thereof and other variations thereof and comparable terminology, and by discussions of strategy, plans, intentions, and unrealized investment results. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause actual results or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this communication, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. We caution the reader that actual results could differ materially from those expected, depending on the outcome of certain factors, including, without limitation, regulatory developments. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation for an offer to buy Interests in any Fund. Any such offer or solicitation will be made solely through definitive offering documents, identified as such, which will contain information about each fund’s investment objectives, terms and conditions of an investment, and may also describe risks and tax information related to an investment therein, and which qualifies in its entirety the information set forth in this press release. Prospective investors must not construe the contents of this document as legal, tax, investment, or other advice. Each prospective investor is urged to consult with its own advisers with respect to legal, tax, regulatory, financial, accounting, and similar consequences of investing in any Fund. The Units and the Shares (the “Interests”) of the Funds have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (“the Securities Act”), the securities laws of any state, or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction, nor is such registration contemplated. The Interests will be and have been offered and sold under the exemption provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated thereunder and other exemptions of similar import in the laws of the states and jurisdictions where the offering will be made. The offer and sale of the Interests have not been registered with or approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or the securities commission or regulatory authority of any state or foreign jurisdiction. The Funds mentioned herein are not registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and Bitwise believes that such registration is not required. Bitwise is not registered as an Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”), and is not registered as a Commodity Pool Operator or Commodity Trading Adviser under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “Commodity Exchange Act”).
The Shares of Funds that are publicly quoted on the OTCQX Best Market are Shares that have become “unrestricted” under Rule 144 of the Securities Act one year and a day subsequent to the date that the Shares were originally issued (although Shares held by affiliates and insiders will be subject to additional restrictions on resales, including restrictions on the number of Shares that may be resold within any three-month period). Shares that have become unrestricted may be quoted on the OTCQX Best Market and may be purchased and sold throughout the trading day through any brokerage account with access to such markets.
No Advice on Investment; Risk of Loss: Prior to making any investment decision in respect of any Fund or Shares of any Fund, each investor must undertake its own independent examination and investigation of the Fund, including the merits and risks involved in an investment in the Fund or Shares, and must base its investment decision—including a determination whether Shares would be a suitable investment for the investor—on such examination and investigation, and must not rely on Bitwise or the Funds in making such investment decision. Prospective investors must not construe the contents of this document as legal, tax, investment, or other advice. Each prospective investor is urged to consult with its own advisors with respect to legal, tax, regulatory, financial, accounting, and similar consequences of investing in any Fund, the suitability of the investment for such investor, and other relevant matters concerning an investment in the Fund. This press release contains limited information regarding the terms of the Fund. The summary set forth on this document does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the definitive offering documents relating to each Fund and/or in each case, if available in addition, the Fund’s Annual Report or Information Statement and Quarterly Reports, which can be found on www.otcmarkets.com for the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (Symbol: BITW). Do not place undue reliance on this press release.
Information May Change and Be Inaccurate, Incomplete, or Outdated: The information in this press release is for discussion purposes only, and no representations or warranties are given or implied. All of the information presented herein is subject to change without notice.
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About Bitwise
Bitwise Asset Management is the largest crypto index fund manager in America. Thousands of financial advisors, family offices, and institutional investors partner with Bitwise to understand and access the opportunities in crypto. For six years, Bitwise has established a track record of excellence managing a broad suite of index and active solutions across ETFs, separately managed accounts, private funds, and hedge fund strategies. Bitwise is known for providing unparalleled client support through expert research and commentary, its nationwide client team of crypto specialists, and its deep access to the crypto ecosystem. The Bitwise team of more than 60 professionals combines expertise in technology and asset management with backgrounds including BlackRock, Millennium, ETF.com, Meta, Google, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bitwise is backed by leading institutional investors and has been profiled in Institutional Investor, Barron’s, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal. It has offices in San Francisco and New York. For more information, visit www.bitwiseinvestments.com.
