Bitwise Crypto Index Committee Meeting (December 2022)
San Francisco • December 30, 2022
Meeting Details
Date: December 23, 2022
Time: 7:00-8:00 a.m. PT
Reason for Meeting: Standard monthly meeting
In Attendance: Matt Hougan (Chair), Hunter Horsley (Member), Hong Kim (Member), Katherine Dowling (Observer), Satyajeet Pal (Observer), Gayatri Choudhury (Observer), Kristen Corkill (Observer), Ryan Rasmussen (Observer)
Meeting Notes
1: Welcome and Attendance
All members of the Committee were present at the meeting.
2: Review and Verify All Data Sources for Uptime, Accuracy, and Robustness
The Bitwise Engineering team confirmed that all data sources were working as expected with regard to uptime, accuracy, and robustness.
3: Review and Approve Any Proposed Changes to the Bitwise Crypto Index Methodology
The Committee discussed two proposed changes to the Bitwise Crypto Index methodology, and voted in favor of one change.
a. "Buffer Zones”: The Committee discussed rule VI.C.ii of the methodology, which is known as the “Buffer Zones” rule.
The rule states that “An Eligible Crypto Asset held in a Bitwise Crypto Index will only be removed if there is an asset eligible for the index that exceeds the current asset’s free-float market capitalization by 5% as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time on each of the five consecutive days up to and including the third-last Business Day of the month.”
The Committee voted 3-0 in favor of increasing the Buffer Zone from 5% to 10%. The change will be effective as of January 1, 2023.
b. The Committee discussed rule III.B.i.d of the methodology, which requires crypto assets to trade on two or more Eligible Crypto Asset Trading Venues.
The Committee considered a proposal to include Uniswap on its list of Eligible Crypto Asset Trading Venues; currently, that list only includes centralized crypto trading venues. The Committee determined that the idea merited additional study, and elected to revisit the idea at a future date.
4: Review and Approve All Methodological Decisions That Require Judgment
The Committee discussed one methodological decision that requires judgment.
a. Quote Crypto Assets: Rule IV.A.i.a of the methodology requires that the Committee select a group of “Quote Crypto Assets” on an annual basis at the Committee meeting that precedes the start of a new calendar year.
The Committee voted 3-0 that bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) would act as the “Quote Crypto Assets” for the calendar year of 2023. This represents no change from the prior year.
5: Developments Impacting the Market and/or Individual Bitwise Crypto Index Constituents
The Committee discussed a large number of developments impacting the market and/or individual Bitwise Crypto Index constituents, including Cardano’s plans to launch a new algorithmic stablecoin in 2023; Coinbase Wallet removing support for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and XRP (XRP); Yearn Finance’s (YFI) vote considering a redesign to its token-economic model; Sushiswap’s (SUSHI) proposed action to support its Treasury; the arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and developments around the FTX legal case; concerns about Binance; and the annual letter from crypto asset manager Grayscale, among other topics.
6: Review Expected Changes to Bitwise Indexes
The Committee reviewed the expected changes to the Bitwise Crypto Indexes, and determined that the reconstitution process is running appropriately.
7: Adjournment
The Chair adjourned the meeting.
About Bitwise
Based in San Francisco, Bitwise is one of the largest and fastest-growing crypto asset managers, offering both index and active strategies across a wide array of investment vehicles. The firm is known for creating the world’s largest crypto index fund (OTCQX: BITW), a suite of crypto-focused equity and futures ETFs, and investment products that span Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, and NFTs. Bitwise focuses on partnering with financial advisors and investment professionals to provide quality education and research. The team at Bitwise combines expertise in technology with decades of experience in traditional asset management and indexing, coming from firms including BlackRock, Blackstone, Meta, and Google, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bitwise is backed by leading institutional investors and asset management executives, and has been profiled in Institutional Investor, CNBC, Barron’s, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal.
