Bitwise Expands Into Ether Staking With Attestant Acquisition

Bitwise Asset Management, a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer, has acquired Attestant, a non-custodial Ether (ETH) staking service provider, as part of its strategy to offer a wider range of crypto services.

Attestant is a London-based privately held company. With the acquisition, Bitwise will now manage over $10 billion in assets, including Attestant’s $3.7 billion in assets under management (AUM). Attestant’s 11 employees will join Bitwise.

Terms of the cash and equity transaction weren’t disclosed.

According to a Bloomberg report on Nov. 13, this deal is Bitwise’s response to the growing demand for Ether staking services.

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley commented on the deal, stating that the move is a “new chapter” and adding that clients now expect companies to deliver broad capabilities at scale.

Aptos ETP Launch in Europe

The acquisition aligns with Bitwise’s growing interest in staking-related products. One day earlier, on Nov. 12, the company unveiled the world’s first Aptos exchange-traded product (ETP), Bitwise Aptos Staking ETP (APTB), which will be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange on Nov. 19.

The ETP will seek to stake the Aptos it holds, which is expected to generate additional returns of approximately 4.7% net of fees.

The Aptos blockchain launched just over 2 years ago.

Since then:
– 1.7B transactions
– 27M+ active addresses
– 8M monthly active users
– 250+ projects built on it
– Used by MSFT, Amazon, Mastercard, Coinbase, and more

TL;DR: Don’t sleep on Aptos.

— Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) November 12, 2024

APTB marks Bitwise’s tenth ETP in Europe, joining a lineup that includes the largest liquid physically-backed Bitcoin (BTC) ETP, BTCE, and the growing Ether staking ETP, ET32, launched earlier this year.

Following its debut on the SIX Swiss Exchange, Bitwise has plans to list APTB on other major European stock exchanges.

Additionally, APTB is Bitwise’s second addition to its European Total Return product suite, which also includes the ETC Group Ethereum Staking ETP, which recently surpassed $50 million in AUM.

Trump’s Win Sparks Optimism

Trump’s presidential victory on Nov. 5 could pave the way for a wave of new crypto ETFs in the U.S., with over half a dozen currently waiting for regulatory approval.

These proposed ETFs include funds holding a variety of altcoins like Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC), among others. While U.S. ETFs currently can’t include staking, this restriction might change following Trump’s win, as he is expected to relax rules around digital assets.

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