In a strategic move to expand its presence in Europe and the broader crypto industry, asset manager and Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer Bitwise Investment has sealed a deal to acquire ETC Group, a major crypto issuer headquartered in London. 

While specific terms of the transaction remain undisclosed, Bitwise announced on Monday that following the finalization of the deal, the San Francisco-based company will be entrusted with managing a substantial $4.5 billion in assets. 

Founded in 2019, ETC Group has established itself as a pioneer in the European crypto ETP space, according to Bloomberg, offering a range of physically-backed funds tracking popular digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP. Its flagship product, the $700 million Bitcoin ETP, is the largest on the continent.

Notably, all offerings by ETC Group are backed by physical assets, with plans to rebrand these products under the Bitwise banner in the future. 

In January of this year, Bitwise introduced its inaugural spot Bitcoin ETF in the US, the Bitwise Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (BITB), after gaining approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has rapidly amassed over $2 billion in assets under management (AuM).

Last month, Bitwise also launched its first spot, Ethereum ETP, the Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), which attracted over $300 million in assets within weeks of its debut. 

Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, highlighting the opportunity to cater to European investors, provide global insights to clients, and diversify the product suite with “innovative ETPs.”

Reflecting on Bitwise’s six-year journey as a respected asset manager in the cryptocurrency markets, Horsley affirmed the company’s dedication to delivering expertise and value to European investors, institutions, and advisors. Horsley further stated:

We’re proud of the reputation we have built over the last six years with advisors, institutions, and investors as a sophisticated asset manager in crypto markets, and look forward to bringing this expertise to European investors.

At the time of writing, the largest cryptocurrency on the market, Bitcoin, is trading at $58,200, failing to regain the key $60,000 mark over the weekend as a lack of bullish catalysts storm the market. 

BTC has fallen over 2% in the last 24 hours but found support last week at $56,000, which will be crucial for bullish investors to hold in case to prevent a deeper retracement in the coming days and tests once again its 7-month low of $49,000 reached on August 5th.  

On the other hand, Ethereum experienced a deeper retracement compared to Sunday’s price, trading at $2,570 and recording a loss of 3.4% over the same time frame.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

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