Bitwise Asset Management has acquired the Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC), with plans to integrate Osprey’s $120 million in assets into its Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB). As part of the transaction, OBTC unitholders will receive BITB shares in a liquidating distribution. Existing BITB holders will not experience any changes to their shares or operations. The transition to BITB offers OBTC unitholders the advantages of tighter tracking and a reduced management fee of 0.2% compared to OBTC’s 0.49%. This acquisition follows Bitwise’s recent purchase of ETC Group, expanding its presence in the European market and bringing its total assets under management to $4.5 billion.
Launched in January, BITB is now the fifth-largest Bitcoin spot ETF in the United States, managing $2.4 billion in assets. Despite competition from heavyweights like BlackRock and Fidelity, BITB has attracted substantial inflows. The Osprey acquisition represents a significant step for OBTC unitholders, allowing them to benefit from the scale and expertise of Bitwise. Recent data shows that OBTC shares have declined by 4.27% over the past month, while Bitcoin’s price has dropped by 9.34%. In contrast, BITB has experienced a smaller decrease of 8.56%, reflecting its closer alignment with Bitcoin’s price movements.
On Tuesday, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows after an eight-day streak of positive inflows, according to data from SoSoValue. The funds accumulated $756 million in inflows during the positive streak but reported $127 million in net outflows on Tuesday, with Valkyrie’s BRRR fund not yet updated. Ark & 21Shares’ ARKB led the outflows with $101.97 million, followed by Grayscale’s GBTC with $18.32 million and Bitwise’s BITB with $6.76 million in outflows. Eight funds, including BlackRock’s IBIT, had no activity. The total trade volume for U.S. spot Bitcoin funds reached $1.2 billion, with total net inflows of $17.95 billion since January.
Meanwhile, U.S. spot ether ETFs saw their ninth consecutive day of net outflows on Tuesday, reporting $3.45 million in negative flows. Grayscale’s ether fund had a daily net outflow of $9.18 million, offset by net inflows of $3.88 million into Fidelity’s FETH and $1.86 million into Bitwise’s ETHW. These outflows mark a continued trend in the spot ether ETF market. The recent acquisition of Osprey Bitcoin Trust by Bitwise represents a consolidation within the Bitcoin exchange-traded fund market and aligns with Bitwise’s strategy to expand its presence and assets under management. With the integration of OBTC’s assets into BITB, OBTC unitholders stand to benefit from the closer alignment with Bitcoin price movements and lower management fees offered by Bitwise.
Despite the competitive market that includes BlackRock and Fidelity, BITB has garnered substantial inflows, currently managing $2.4 billion in assets and being the fifth-largest Bitcoin spot ETF in the U.S. The acquisition of Osprey Bitcoin Trust by Bitwise is seen as a significant step in the integration process, offering OBTC unitholders access to Bitwise’s expertise and scale. The recent outflows in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs mark a change from the previous eight days of positive inflows, with a total net outflow of $127 million reported on Tuesday. These fluctuations in Bitcoin and ether ETFs reflect the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency market and the varying investor sentiment towards these assets.
