The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) is set to receive $120 million in Bitcoin as part of a plan to acquire the assets of the Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC).
This deal, announced in a joint statement on August 27 by Bitwise Asset Management and Osprey Funds, involves an Asset Purchase Agreement between the two firms. As part of the transaction, OBTC unitholders will receive shares of BITB as they liquidate their OBTC shares. The deal is expected to close “later this year,” pending regulatory and other closing conditions.
Osprey Funds, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, launched the OBTC on the OTC market in February 2021 with a management fee of 0.49%, providing U.S. investors with a new option for Bitcoin exposure.
At its inception, OBTC was a competitor to the much larger Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which later converted to a spot Bitcoin ETF. Osprey even filed a lawsuit against Grayscale in January 2023, accusing it of misleading advertising and gaining a monopolistic share in a market with only two participants.
By March, Osprey began exploring a potential sale or liquidation as OBTC units were trading below the value of Bitcoin. “We wanted a solution that worked for everyone, and this seems to be the best option,” Osprey Funds' founder and CEO Greg King stated in an August 27 post on X (formerly Twitter). According to OBTC’s website, the trust currently holds approximately $120.7 million in assets under management.
“This announcement follows Osprey’s earlier communication about exploring strategic alternatives,” the companies said in a joint statement. “The acquisition by Bitwise marks a significant step in that process, providing OBTC unitholders the opportunity to benefit from Bitwise's scale and expertise.”
Full link: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitwise-bitcoin-etf-to-acquire-120-million-in-osprey-btc-trust Show Less
