Crypto fund manager Bitwise announced the launch of a Crypto Index Fund that will track the top 10 cryptocurrencies. The shares of the fund will be tradeable through traditional brokerage accounts under the ticker symbol “BITW.”

The Fund debuted on Wednesday and has about $115 million in assets under management.

“The unprecedented events of 2020 have motivated many to invest in crypto for the first time,” said Hunter Horsley, co-founder, and CEO of Bitwise Asset Management.

The @BitwiseInvest Top 10 Crypto Index Fund started trading publicly yesterday on OTC Markets under ticker BITW.

465k shares, approx $14mln, traded for its first day. pic.twitter.com/sZZXRIei4L

— skew (@skewdotcom) December 10, 2020

As of Nov. 30, 2020, the Fund held approximately 75% Bitcoin (BTC) and 13% Ethereum (ETH), with the remaining 12% allocated across XRP, Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Chainlink (LINK), Stellar (XLM), EOS, and Tezos (XTZ). The coins are held in cold storage with regulated, insured Coinbase Custodian.

On a year-to-date basis through Nov. 30, 2020, the Fund was up 184%, outperforming a stand-alone position in Bitcoin, noted the firm.

“Crypto is the best-performing asset class in the world this year, and the outlook for 2021 is strong,” said Matt Hougan, Bitwise's Chief Investment Officer.

“The start of public trading for shares of BITW will make it significantly easier for financial advisers, family offices, individuals, and institutional funds to allocate to the space.”

The crypto market is excited about the US investors now getting access to the 10 largest crypto assets with just one purchase, allowing an investor to gain exposure to a diversified portfolio.

Because Bitwise funds can be traded via brokerage accounts, investors can also gain exposure to crypto-assets via the fund in tax-deferred retirement accounts. However, the index is trading at a nearly 100% premium to NAV (net asset value), which is expected to come back to earth at some point, just like GBTC.

The index has been launched after many failed attempts at exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the company that was primarily focused on Bitcoin.

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