Bitwise Asset Management has submitted a proposal to launch a new fund designed to hold stocks of publicly traded companies with substantial Bitcoin holdings in their reserves.
According to a recent filing, the Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF aims to invest in firms that have embraced the Bitcoin standard by maintaining a minimum of 1,000 Bitcoin in their corporate treasuries.
To be eligible for the ETF, BTC-holding companies must also meet specific criteria, including a market capitalization of at least $100 million, average daily trading liquidity of at least $1 million, and a public free float capped at 10%.
Unlike traditional ETFs, which allocate weight based on a company’s market capitalization, Bitwise’s fund prioritizes holdings by the market value of each firm’s Bitcoin reserves, with a maximum weight limit of 25%.
For instance, in Bitwise’s ETF, Tesla, with its $1.42 trillion market cap, would be less weighted than MicroStrategy, which has a market cap of $83.5 billion. Tesla owns 9,720 BTC, while MicroStrategy holds a significantly larger reserve of 444,262 BTC.
Big Firms Bagging BTC
The latest moves came amid public companies purchasing BTC to enhance their stock performance, driven by the crypto’s 117% surge this year.
KULR Technology Group, an energy management platform, recently added 217.18 BTC to its corporate treasury, worth $21 million, and plans to buy more. Following the investment, the firm’s shares surged to an all-time high. The purchase was made at an average price of $96,556.53 per BTC.
The purchase follows the company’s announcement of its Bitcoin Treasury strategy on December 4, 2024, which allocated up to 90% of its surplus cash to BTC.
Meanwhile, bitcoin surpassed the six-figure mark for the first time last month, reaching a high of approximately $108,000 in early December. However, it has since fallen, currently trading around $96,166.
MicroStrategy, one of the largest BTC corporate holders, is not excluded. The company purchased an additional 5,262 BTC worth approximately $561 million.
The substantial buy showed MicroStrategy’s unwavering commitment to its Bitcoin investment strategy. In its latest purchase, the firm bought the crypto asset at an average price of roughly $106,662, the highest cost the company has ever paid per BTC.
