Bitwise Asset Management has acquired the Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC), integrating its $120 million in assets under Bitwise’s Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB). Existing OBTC unitholders will receive BITB shares in a liquidating distribution, with no changes for existing BITB holders. OBTC shares could trade at premiums or discounts to the underlying Bitcoin holdings, leading to price discrepancies. Recent data shows OBTC shares declining by 4.27% over the past month, while BITB saw a smaller decrease of 8.56%, reflecting closer alignment with Bitcoin’s price movements. The transition to BITB offers advantages of tighter tracking and a reduced management fee of 0.2%.
Osprey acknowledged the acquisition by Bitwise as a pivotal step in its previous consideration of a potential sale or merger of the trust. BITB, launched in January, is competing with heavyweights like BlackRock and Fidelity, managing $2.4 billion in assets and ranking as the fifth-largest Bitcoin spot ETF in the United States. The 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. On the other hand, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows after an eight-day streak of positive inflows, with funds like ARKB, GBTC, and BITB recording outflows.
On August 27, Ethereum spot ETFs also reported net outflows for the ninth consecutive day. Grayscale’s ether fund had a daily net outflow of $9.18 million, offset by inflows into Fidelity’s FETH and Bitwise’s ETHW. The total net outflow of Ethereum spot ETFs was $3.4452 million on that day. The U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs had accumulated $756 million in inflows over a period but experienced net outflows of $127 million on the day of the announcement. Spot ether ETFs continued their net outflows trend, reporting $3.45 million in negative flows on the same day.
Despite the competition in the Bitcoin ETF market, BITB has attracted substantial inflows and managed to become one of the top spot ETFs in the U.S. market. The acquisition of OBTC by Bitwise is seen as a significant step for both entities, providing OBTC unitholders with the opportunity to benefit from Bitwise’s scale and expertise. The transition to BITB offers tighter tracking and a reduced management fee compared to OBTC. Bitwise’s recent acquisition of ETC Group has expanded its presence in the European market and increased its total assets under management to $4.5 billion. The Bitcoin ETF market continues to see fluctuations in inflows and outflows, with both spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs experiencing shifts in investor sentiment.
