Bitwise Launches OWNB ETF To Track Institutions Holding Bitcoin

Bitwise has rolled out an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to track enterprises with bitcoin on their balance sheets. The newly minted ETF does not invest in Bitcoin but provides exposure to companies holding the asset in their corporate treasuries.

Bitwise Launches OWNB ETF To Track Corporate Bitcoin Holders

According to a statement, Bitwise has clinched the approval of the US SEC to launch a new ETF tracking corporate Bitcoin holders. Per the release, Bitwise’s latest ETF will provide exposure to Bitcoin-holding companies via an index strategy.

The fund, dubbed the Bitwise Standard Corporations ETF, is the first of its kind and will operate with the ticker OWNB. Companies forming part of the index have to meet certain conditions including owning at least 1,000 BTC.

The holdings are weighted by the owned BTC with the largest ownership capped at 20% for diversification. Bitwise’s new ETF will assign an automatic weighting of 1.5% to corporations with BTC holdings over 1,000 but make up less than 33% of the proprietary assets.

Index rebalancing will occur quarterly with the statement clarifying that the fund will not invest in bitcoin directly or indirectly. The rollout comes in the middle of BTC ETF outflows as investors’ appetites reach new lows for Bitcoin.

Strategy and MARA Holdings To Be Indexed By The ETF

The Bitwise ETF will track Strategy, MARA Holdings, Clean Spark, Riot Platforms, and Boyaa Interactive among others given their impressive BTC holdings.

“OWNB allows investors to gain exposure to a diverse array of forward-thinking companies through a familiar ETF wrapper,” said Bitwise.

More than 70 publicly traded companies jointly hold over 650,000 BTC on their balance sheets. Strategy is eyeing a fresh $21 billion for BTC purchase while new firms are angling to join the trend.

Bitwise has since submitted an S-1 filing for an Aptos ETF, striking a partnership with Maple Finance for on-chain credit. The firm has its sights on a Dogecoin ETF while pledging a donation to the Bitcoin open-source development.