Bitwise To Buy ETC Group To Expand ETF Footprint

Investment asset management firm Bitwise is taking its ETF journey to a higher level with its latest acquisition. The week started with the firm announcing its intention to acquire ETC Group, a digital-assets issuer based in London. In the meantime, the terms of the acquisition deal remains unknown.

Bitwise to Manage $4.5 Billion in AUM

As reported by Bloomberg, upon completion, Bitwise will have the responsibility of handling up to $4.5 billion in Asset Under Management (AUM). This is in addition to ETC Group’s $1.1 billion AUM. Noteworthy, the London-based company boasts of a few high-end products including a physically backed Bitcoin fund.

Such acquisition are not unheard of in the financial sector, especially when the firm-to-be-acquired falls under distress and realizes the need to come under a more buoyant environment. Most times, these acquisitions serve as a means for the buyers to pursue international expansions, without developing a new product.

In the first quarter of this year, US-based Valkyrie sold its ETF business to CoinShares. For the acquirer, it marked a move aimed at bolstering its foothold in the U.S. digital asset market.

Last year, asset manager TCW Group purchased an ETF business from activist investor Engine No. 1. Similarly, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management bought Rize ETF Limited, a fellow ETF issuer.

Pushing More Borders With Crypto ETFs

Generally, Bitwise is having a good time in the digital asset sector and is even looking at expanding further. With the likes of BlackRock, Grayscale and Fidelity, the asset manager launched its spot Bitcoin ETF in January and its Ethereum ETF in June. In the first week of August, a $40 billion institutional consultant tapped BITB for its BTC investments.

Apart from the milestone win for the spot crypto issuer, the move marked the increasing attention that crypto products are getting from institutional investors. With such success rate, it is only normal that the firm is considering other crypto ETFs.

Last month, the firm’s CIO Matt Hougan noted that “Long term, as we look into 2025, we’ve entered the ETF era of crypto. We’re going to see ETFs on multiple crypto assets; we’re going to see index-based ETFs.”

Still in a bid to expand its offerings, Bitwise submitted a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list Options products on its spot Ethereum ETF offering. Grayscale made the same move, reflecting investors demand for more than the original ETF offering.