Bitwise applies for 'actual' Bitcoin ETF with NYSE Arca

The global values of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have massively fluctuated over the past year partly due to Chinese regulations

Bitwise Asset Management will chase a Bitcoin ETF (BTC) with NYSE Arca that holds "real BTC," and not derivatives or any other indirect exposure cryptocurrencies, CIO Matt Hougan announced on Twitter Thursday.

According to Hougan, the Bitwise team spent more than two years analyzing the company's ability to "monitor and enforce" any attempted manipulation. The analysis concluded that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is a "regulated market of significant size" for the crypto market.

"The market has matured," said Bitwise's CIO. "A genuine BTC ETF can now be approved. "

The company's SEC filing shows that it plans to register 1,000 shares of its Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust with a proposed maximum bid price of $25. In addition, the SEC filing says the company will use the U.S. benchmark CME rate as the price benchmark for Bitcoin.

Bitwise initially applied for a Bitcoin ETF registration with the SEC in January 2019. The regulator, however, rejected the proposal in October the same year, but later announced that they would reconsider the decision.

As a result, Bitwise withdrew its request the following year after the SEC essentially kept the proposal on hold. Following this, Hougan said Bitwise planned to re-file "at an appropriate time" after the company addressed a few of the agency's concerns in the initial filing.

Bitwise has not filed its SEC application for an exchange-traded fund with direct exposure to Bitcoin since the 2020 withdrawal. But the company did launch a Crypto Industry Innovators ETF in May, which provides investors exposure to the majority of the largest publicly traded companies employing in the blockchain and crypto industry.

The fund, which was based on Bitwise's Crypto Industry Innovators 30 Index, tracks leading companies "engaged in real and material activity in the crypto industry."

Although SEC Gary Gensler has hinted that he would be more willing to accept ETFs based on crypto futures rather than direct exposure, the U.S. regulator has yet to approve an ETF application.

BTC is physically supported. Last week, however, the SEC approved an application for the Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF, which gives investors access to companies with high Bitcoin exposure.