The dominant crypto narrative for 2024 has been institutional adoption. From the United States’ approval of the Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded budget to the growing number of corporations pledging to buy the largest cryptocurrency for their treasuries, cryptocurrencies have, more than ever before, entered the mainstream debate.
Bitcoin has increased almost 130% this year, breaking record highs on several occasions. It is currently hovering near the psychological threshold of $100,000. The ETFs approved in January have seen net inflows of $36 billion and amassed over 1 million BTC.
In addition, the number of publicly traded corporations reporting that they are adding bitcoin to their treasury is accelerating. The trend, which with MicroStrategy (MSTR) in 2020, recently attracted KULR Technology (KULR), a manufacturer of energy storage products for the space and defense industries. The Houston, Texas-based company said it purchased 217. 18 BTC for $21 million and allocated up to 90% of the excess money to BTC.
Now, Bitwise Asset Management, which already owns Bitcoin and Ether spot ETFs, has filed to create an exchange-traded fund to track the shares of corporations that hold at least 1,000 BTC in cash. Other needs of the fund, called Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF, are a market capitalization of at least $100 million, a minimum average daily liquidity of at least $1 million and a public of less than 10%, depending on the deposit of the December 26.
A second filing filed Thursday through Strive Asset Management, co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, a politician in US President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. The Bitcoin Bond ETF seeks exposure through derivative tools, such as MicroStrategy convertible securities in an actively controlled ETF. The bonds have been very successful. The 0% coupon bond due 2027 is valued at 150% above par and has outperformed bitcoin since its inception.
“Since our inception, Strive has called out the long-term investment risks caused by the global fiat debt crisis, inflation, and geopolitical tensions,” Strive CEO Matt Cole told CoinDesk. “We strongly believe there is no better long-term investment to hedge against these risks than thoughtful exposure to bitcoin.”
“The first of many planned Bitcoin responses through Strive will democratize access to Bitcoin bonds, which are bonds issued through corporations to acquire Bitcoin. We, those bonds, offer great risk-reward exposure to Bitcoin, but they are not available to purchase through most investors,” he added.