Bitwise Launches World’s First “Offshore” Crypto Index Fund For International Investors, Meeting Significant Pent-Up Demand
Former BlackRock executive Richard “Rick” Arney joins as Independent Director of the Board for the new Fund
SAN FRANCISCO, June 28, 2018 — Bitwise Asset Management, creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency index fund, the Bitwise HOLD 10 Private Index Fund, today announced the launch of the world’s first offshore crypto index fund.
The Bitwise HOLD 10 Index Offshore Fund, Ltd. aims to track the returns of Bitwise’s HOLD 10 Index, a market-cap-weighted index of the 10 largest cryptocurrencies. The fund is an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and is intended for international and tax-exempt U.S. investors seeking rules-based exposure to crypto markets.
“We’ve received more than 2,500 inbound requests from international investors looking to invest in the HOLD 10,” said Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise Asset Management, referring to the U.S.-domiciled fund launched in November 2017. “We’re delighted to bring the same high-quality exposure we offer in our U.S. fund to the offshore market, and look forward to serving international partners and tax-exempt U.S. investors with this new vehicle.”
The HOLD 10 Index captures approximately 80% of the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market, subject to liquidity, concentration and custody limitations. On a backtested basis, from Jan. 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018, the index rose 1,139%, compared to 677% for Bitcoin alone.* More information is available here.
The Offshore Fund is open and accepting subscriptions. It is available in two classes: an Investor Class with a minimum investment of $100,000 and a unitary expense ratio of 2.5%; and an Institutional Class with a minimum investment of $1 million and a unitary expense ratio of 2.0%. The Fund offers weekly liquidity.
Bitwise also announced that Richard “Rick” Arney is joining as independent director of the board for the fund. He served as head of the Hedge Fund Group and global head of Alternatives Distribution at BlackRock. Arney has substantial experience in governance matters, and previously served on the Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment Committee of BlackRock. In addition to his role as director of this fund, Arney serves as the independent chairman of the Lending Club Fund Governance Board, where he provides fiduciary, compliance, and risk oversight for a variety of investment funds.
“I’m thrilled to play a role in helping international and tax-exempt U.S. investors gain institutional-quality exposure to the rapidly emerging cryptocurrency market,” said Arney. “Bitwise is a pioneer in the crypto space. The launch of this fund is the next logical step in its efforts to make it easy for all investors to have safe, secure, and diversified exposure to cryptoassets.”
Bitwise Asset Management is a pioneer in the cryptocurrency asset management space. It is backed by leading institutional and individual investors, including Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Blockchain Capital, Naval Ravikant, David Sacks, Elad Gil, Adam Nash, Adam Ludwin, Suna Said and Avichal Garg.
About Bitwise Asset Management
Founded in 2017, Bitwise Asset Management is a cryptocurrency asset manager backed by institutional investors. The firm is a partner to individuals, financial advisors, family offices, investment managers, and institutions in navigating cryptocurrency. Bitwise develops funds, indexes, insight, and other services. The team behind Bitwise has expertise in technology, security, and finance. The firm is based in San Francisco.
For More Information
www.bitwiseinvestments.com
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Disclosures
Bitwise Asset Management, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, the “Manager”) are furnishing this release (this “Release”) to sophisticated prospective investors for informational purposes only in relation to a potential opportunity to subscribe for redeemable, participating, voting shares (“Shares”) in the Bitwise HOLD 10 Index Offshore Fund, Ltd. (the “Fund”). The Fund is a Cayman Islands exempted company. The private placement of Shares in the Fund may be offered to certain tax-exempt United States accredited investors as defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and certain non-United States persons pursuant to Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933. This is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation for an offer to buy Shares in the Fund. Any offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Shares will be made solely through definitive offering documents, identified as such, in respect of the Fund in compliance with the terms of applicable securities and other laws. Such definitive offering documents, if any, will describe risks related to an investment in the Fund (including loss of the entire investment) and will qualify in their entirety the information set forth in this Release.
Bitwise HOLD 10 Index performance prior to Oct. 1, 2017 represents a hypothetical, backtested and unaudited return-stream that does not represent the returns of an actual account. Index performance does not include the fees and expenses that are charged by the Fund. Actual returns may differ materially from hypothetical, backtested returns. Backtesting is calculated by retroactively applying a financial model or Index-weighting methodology to the historical data to obtain returns. The historical backtested performance of the HOLD 10 Index was calculated by retroactively applying the Index Methodology (a financial model, or set of rules for calculating Index constituents and weightings) to a historical set of data in order to arrive at hypothetical Index performance. This performance history is not the performance of any actual account, but rather the result of applying a set of mathematical rules to a set of historical data in order to arrive at the hypothetical results of how the Index would have performed if it had, in fact, been in existence during the historical period. The inception date for the index is Oct. 1, 2017. Backward-looking performance cannot predict how any investment strategy will perform in the future.
Performance of an index is not illustrative of any particular investment. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Exposure to an asset class represented by an index may be available through investable instruments based on that index. The Manager makes no assurance that investment in cryptocurrencies based on the index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns.
No Advice on Investment; Risk of Loss
Prior to making any investment decision in respect of the Fund, each investor must undertake its own independent examination and investigation of the Fund, including the merits and risks involved in an investment in the Shares, and must base its investment decision — including a determination whether Shares would be a suitable investment for the investor — on such examination and investigation and must not rely on the Manager or the Fund in making such investment decision. Prospective investors must not construe the contents of this Release as legal, tax, investment, or other advice. Each prospective investor is urged to consult with its own advisors with respect to legal, tax, regulatory, financial, accounting, and similar consequences of investing in the Fund, the suitability of the investment for such investor, and other relevant matters concerning an investment in the Fund. This Release contains a limited overview summary of the terms of the Fund. The summary set forth in this Release does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the definitive offering documents relating to the Fund. Do not place undue reliance on this Release.
SOURCE: Bitwise Asset Management
