Bitwise, an asset management firm, received substantial BTC contributions and accolades after revealing the on-chain address for its Bitcoin ETF Trust (BITB). The move, disclosed on January 24, made Bitwise the first U.S. bitcoin ETF to publicly share its holdings’ addresses.
The firm emphasized that this step promotes transparency in the BTC ecosystem by enabling straightforward verification of BITB holdings, aligning with ethical principles.
Bitwise’s BITB stands out as one of the top-performing ETFs within the “Newborn Nine.” The ETF, as per official data, possesses 12,338 BTC, valued at approximately $490 million, in its trust.
After the public revelation, the Bitwise ETF address started receiving Bitcoin donations and messages from the crypto community. River’s CEO and CTO, Alexander Leishman, highlighted an individual sending 6969 satoshis to the Bitwise ETF.
Mononaut, a pseudonymous developer, mentioned an intriguing donation with an assumed inscription from Elizabeth Warren to the Bitwise address.
However, concerns arise about the impact on the ETF, with analyst Dylan LeClair cautioning against donations from non-OFAC-compliant addresses.
Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg emphasized the novelty of this situation, as it marked the first instance of an underlying asset being donated to an ETF. According to him, assets typically enter an ETF when Authorized Participants (AP) provide funds to the issuer.
Also Read: Nine New Bitcoin ETFs Surpass 100K BTC in 7 Days of Trading
