Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF Clears First Regulatory Hurdle With SEC’s ‘Accelerated Approval’

Bitwise Asset Management’s exchange-traded product tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum has received the initial nod from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has given an initial approval to an exchange-traded product from Bitwise Asset Management that will track Bitcoin and Ethereum.

According to an update from the commission on Jan. 30, the Bitwise Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF received “accelerated approval” for its 19b-4 filing. The product now awaits the regulator’s decision on its S-1 registration, which will be the final step before commencing trading.

A 19b-4 approval allows an exchange to list and trade a new financial product, while an S-1 registration is required for issuing new securities to the public.

The Bitwise ETF was filed in November to offer investors exposure to both Bitcoin and Ethereum within a single product. The fund is structured to track the spot prices of BTC and ETH, with asset weightings based on their relative market capitalizations.

At the time of its last filing, the allocation was around 83% Bitcoin and 17% Ethereum. To calculate these weightings, the ETF will multiply each asset's circulating supply with a pricing benchmark.

This marks the first approval for a crypto ETP under the current SEC administration led by acting chair Mark Udeya, but it is the third joint Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF to receive a green light from the regulator.

Given that the fund's structure is very similar to previously approved products, such as the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, the filing was approved within the first deadline.

“The structure of the Trust, the terms of its operation and the trading of its Shares, and the representations in the Exchange’s amended filing are substantially similar to those of the spot bitcoin and spot ether ETP proposals approved in prior Commission orders,” the SEC noted.

Meanwhile, Bitwise is still awaiting approval for two other products, including a Dogecoin ETF for which it filed an S-1 on Jan. 29, and the Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF that will invest in equity securities of publicly traded firms holding over 1,000 BTC in their corporate treasuries.

Several issuers are optimistic that the new SEC under President Donald Trump will be more open to a broader range of crypto investment products. As such, firms have begun exploring ETFs beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

For example, Tuttle Capital has filed for ten leveraged ETF products that will track a variety of altcoins, including XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Official Trump (TRUMP), Melania Meme (MELANIA) and more. Other issuers like Grayscale and Canary have also filed for altcoin-based ETFs.