Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) has announced that it is acquiring Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC).
The deal, revealed in a joint statement on Tuesday, will see OBTC investors receiving BITB shares as part of its liquidating distribution.
OBTC was launched in February 2021 and has been a smaller competitor in the market with $120 million in assets management.
With this acquisition, OBTC investors will benefit from lower fees—0.2% with BITB compared to 0.49% with OBTC. Additionally, they will experience more accurate tracking of Bitcoin’s price, as BITB tends to follow Bitcoin’s value more closely than OBTC did.
For those who already hold BITB shares, there will be no changes to their investments or the fund’s operation.
This acquisition is part of Bitwise’s broader plan to grow its presence in the competitive Bitcoin ETF market, where it competes with big names like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale.
Recently, Bitwise expanded into Europe by acquiring the London-based ETC Group, which offers similar crypto investment products. This expansion brings Bitwise’s total assets under management to $4.5 billion, further establishing its influence in the global crypto market.
OBTC investors, who previously saw their shares sometimes drift away from Bitcoin’s actual price, will now benefit from BITB’s price tracking.
Over the past month, OBTC shares dropped by 4.27%, while Bitcoin itself fell by 9.34%. BITB, on the other hand, was down 8.56%, showing a closer alignment with Bitcoin’s price movements.
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