Bitwise Tops $1 Billion In Assets Under Management, As Demand For Crypto Funds Surges Amongst Professional Investors

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitwise Asset Management, a leading provider of index and beta crypto funds, announced today that it recently surpassed $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) across its fund family.

Bitwise manages the largest crypto index fund in the world (OTCQX: BITW) and the first DeFi index fund in the world, amongst a growing family of products:

• Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (OTCQX: BITW)
• Bitwise DeFi Crypto Index Fund
• Bitwise Bitcoin Fund
• Bitwise Ethereum Fund

"Crypto is at a turning point. We're seeing accelerating demand from professional investors and financial advisors for exposure to crypto," said Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley. "Professional investors value index funds because they provide exposure while delivering peace of mind that the strategy will be managed and rebalanced as the category evolves."

Launched in 2017, the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund recently surpassed $900 million in AUM. The fund tracks an index of the 10 largest cryptoassets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Chainlink. Assets in the index account for more than 75% of the total crypto market as measured by market capitalization.

The Bitwise DeFi Crypto Index Fund provides "sector" exposure to cryptoassets that aspire to fundamentally disrupt large parts of the legacy financial ecosystem, including Uniswap, Aave, Synthetix, and Maker. The fund launched on February 17, 2021, and has seen strong initial demand.

"We've been impressed with how quickly the DeFi fund has resonated with investors," said Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan. "Investors find DeFi's disruptive potential both exciting and intuitive."

Bitwise has also seen growth for the single-asset Bitwise Bitcoin Fund and Bitwise Ethereum Fund, which provide professionally managed exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum, respectively. Earlier in February, Bitwise announced it had begun the regulatory process to allow shares of the Bitwise Bitcoin Fund to begin public trading with a ticker on OTCQX.

All of the Bitwise funds offer ongoing private placements to accredited investors via www.bitwiseinvestments.com

About Bitwise Asset Management

Bitwise Asset Management is a leading provider of index and beta crypto funds. Based in San Francisco, Bitwise's team combines expertise in technology with decades of experience in traditional asset management and indexing—coming from firms including Facebook, Google, Wealthfront, BlackRock, Fidelity, Deutsche Bank, IndexIQ, and ETF.com. Bitwise is backed by leading institutional investors and asset management executives and is a frequent commentator on crypto in the press. It has been profiled in Institutional Investor, CNBC, Barron's, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and many other leading publications. The firm is a trusted partner to financial advisors, RIAs, multifamily offices, hedge funds, and other professional investors as they navigate the crypto space. For more information, visit: www.bitwiseinvestments.com.

Disclosure

This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation for an offer to buy Interests in any Fund. Any such offer or solicitation will be made solely through definitive offering documents, identified as such, which will contain information about each fund's investment objectives and terms and conditions of an investment, and may also describe risks and tax information related to an investment therein, and which qualifies in its entirety the information set forth in this press release. Prospective investors must not construe the contents of this document as legal, tax, investment, or other advice. Each prospective investor is urged to consult with its own advisers with respect to legal, tax, regulatory, financial, accounting and similar consequences of investing in any Fund. The Units and the Shares (the "Interests") of the Funds have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 ("the Securities Act"), the securities laws of any state, or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction, nor is such registration contemplated. The Interests will be and have been offered and sold under the exemption provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated thereunder and other exemptions of similar import in the laws of the states and jurisdictions where the offering will be made. The offer and sale of the Interests have not been registered with or approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or the securities commission or regulatory authority of any state or foreign jurisdiction. The Funds mentioned herein are not registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and Bitwise believes that such registration is not required.

The Shares of Funds that are publicly quoted on the OTCQX Best Market are Shares that have become "unrestricted" under Rule 144 of the Securities Act one year and a day subsequent to the date that the Shares were originally issued (although Shares held by affiliates and insiders will be subject to additional restrictions on resales, including restrictions on the number of Shares that may be resold within any three-month period). Shares that have become unrestricted may be quoted on the OTCQX Best Market and may be purchased and sold throughout the trading day through any brokerage account with access to such markets.

No Advice on Investment; Risk of Loss: Prior to making any investment decision in respect of any Fund or Shares of any Fund, each investor must undertake its own independent examination and investigation of the Fund, including the merits and risks involved in an investment in the Fund or Shares, and must base its investment decision—including a determination whether Shares would be a suitable investment for the investor—on such examination and investigation, and must not rely on Bitwise or the Funds in making such investment decision. Prospective investors must not construe the contents of this website as legal, tax, investment, or other advice. Each prospective investor is urged to consult with its own advisors with respect to legal, tax, regulatory, financial, accounting, and similar consequences of investing in any Fund, the suitability of the investment for such investor, and other relevant matters concerning an investment in the Fund. This press release  contains limited information regarding the terms of the Fund. The summary set forth on this document does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the definitive offering documents relating to each Fund and/or in each case, if available in addition, the Fund's Annual Report or Information Statement and Quarterly Reports, which can be found on www.otcmarkets.com for the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (Symbol: BITW). Do not place undue reliance on this press release.

Information May Change and Be Inaccurate, Incomplete, or Outdated: The information in this document is for discussion purposes only, and no representations or warranties are given or implied. All of the information presented herein is subject to change without notice.  Data, including summary AUM data, in this release is unaudited in the current period and provided as of February 22, 2021.

SOURCE Bitwise Asset Management