On the 24th, crypto asset management company Bitwise became the first Bitcoin spot ETF (exchange traded fund) issuer to publicly release its wallet address.

Bitwise posted a screenshot on X (formerly Twitter) showing the Bitcoin address and holdings (11,858 BTC) of the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) as of January 23. “Anyone can now check the assets held by the fund and the flow of funds on the blockchain,” he said.

Transparency is at the core of Bitcoin’s ethos

“On-chain transparency is core to the Bitcoin ethos,” Bitwise said, adding, “We are proud to get it right at BITB. Releasing on-chain addresses is an important step in increasing public transparency. “This is a first step. As our infrastructure evolves, we look forward to doing more, including working with companies like Hoeski to provide real-time encryption certificates.”

Bitcoin and the entire crypto asset ecosystem are designed with the goal of unprecedented levels of transparency. As a result, industry participants tend to ask for detailed information about the financials behind most products and services, including newly launched ETFs.

The launch of a Bitcoin spot ETF raises concerns that the traditional finance (Tradfi) industry will do with Bitcoin what it has done with other assets, i.e. with hype and derivatives. At least some people are concerned that the move could turn a once-healthy product into something devoid of its original form. A notable recent example is the mortgage-backed securities bubble that triggered the global financial crisis 15 years ago.

Experts praise Bitwise’s actions

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Bitcoin, but industry experts are praising Bitwise’s actions so far.

Balaji Srinivasan, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and former CTO of Coinbase, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, said, “This is an important first step towards on-chain accounting. “Ayumu,” he commented.

“We like this about Bitwise,” said Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, an investment advisory firm, adding, “On-chain transparency in addition to the transparency of ETF wrap products. “This is a new example of bridging traditional finance (Tradfi) and decentralized finance (Defi).”

Meanwhile, Arkham Intelligence had previously identified Bitcoin wallet addresses for Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton earlier this week. On the 24th, it also identified wallet addresses for VanEck and WisdomTree.

Although the flow of funds on the 24th is not included, Bitwise received 10,000 yen, equivalent to $474 million (approximately 68.73 billion yen, converted at 150 yen to the dollar) at the current Bitcoin price of just under $40,000. Holds 1858BTC. It is the largest crypto-focused ETF issuer, with $518 million in inflows over the past eight days. Only the BlackRock and Fidelity cash ETFs have had more inflows, with about $1.8 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively.

｜Translation and editing: Rinan Hayashi
｜Image: Unsplash
｜Original text: Bitwise Becomes First Spot Bitcoin ETF Provider to Provide Wallet Address