Bitwise’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF clears first SEC hurdle

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has given initial approval to Bitwise Asset Management’s exchange-traded fund tracking the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The regulator on Jan. 30 approved the fund’s form 19b-4 — the first step in the process that would allow the ETF to start trading. Bitwise still needs the SEC to approve a pending registration application, known as a Form S-1, for the fund to go live.

The “Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF” would give exposure to the spot price of Bitcoin (BTC $104,275) and Ether (ETH $3,242) in a single fund, weighted according to each asset’s relative market capitalizations. As of the date of filing, this was 83% BTC and 17% ETH. 

The ETF will calculate the market capitalization of the two crypto assets by multiplying the pricing benchmarks by their current circulating supplies, the filing states. 

The approval comes less than two weeks after a new crypto-friendly acting chair was appointed to lead the SEC. Bitwise submitted paperwork for the joint ETF to regulators in November, following Donald Trump’s election win.

The fund will be managed by Bitwise Investment Advisers, custody will be provided by Coinbase, and Bank of New York Mellon will serve as the cash custodian, administrator, and transfer agent. 

It is the third joint BTC and ETH spot ETF to be approved by the SEC after the regulator gave the green light to similar ETFs from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton on Dec. 19.  

Bitwise is also planning to launch ETFs for memecoins following a filing for a spot Dogecoin (DOGE $0.3274) product on Jan. 28.  

Earlier this week, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said ETF issuers are “testing the limits of what this SEC is going to allow” after Tuttle Capital filed for ten leveraged crypto ETFs. 

Meanwhile, Bloomberg Intelligence senior government analyst Nathan Dean said that issuers are “probing the SEC’s boundaries, with unique filings including memecoin ETFs.” 

On Jan. 30, Bitwise stated that the current bull market could run into 2026 and beyond, “with Washington embracing digital assets like never before”

“The path to full mainstream crypto adoption is clearer than ever,” it said.