SEC delays decision on Bitwise crypto fund’s conversion to an ETF

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended by 45 days the deadline for deciding on the application to convert Bitwise’s index fund into an ETF.

According to the company’s website, the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) tracks the ten “most valuable vetted cryptocurrencies,” weighted by market capitalisation. The basket is rebalanced monthly.

In November, NYSE Arca filed for a rule change to list the issuer’s product. The SEC was due to issue an initial decision by 17 January. The commission said it needed more time to study the proposal, pushing the review period to 3 March.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said the response was expected.

Update: As expected the SEC has punted/delayed the decision on @BitwiseInvest‘s filing to convert the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) into an ETF. Final deadline is in late July pic.twitter.com/wRzaROBNqy

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 14, 2025

“The final deadline is late July,” the analyst noted.

He expects the SEC will also delay on 2 February its decision on Grayscale’s request to convert its multi-asset crypto fund into an ETF.

Bitwise is the issuer of a spot bitcoin ETF and a similar Ethereum product. After an outflow recorded on 13 January, assets in the firm’s BTC ETF fell to $3.75bn. By comparison, the 10 Crypto Index Fund stands at $1.4bn.

In November, Bitwise filed to launch a combined ETF based on the two largest cryptocurrencies by market value. A month earlier the company sought approval for a spot XRP fund.

JPMorgan analysts have suggested that, if approved, such exchange-traded instruments based on Ripple’s token could attract up to $8bn within six months.