Bitwise Launches Compound (COMP) Fund, Offering Streamlined Exposure to Innovative Defi Platform

The fund gives professional investors simplified access to one of the fastest-growing segments of the nearly $3 trillion crypto market.

Bitwise Asset Management, the world’s largest crypto index fund manager with over $1.7 billion in AUM,¹ today announced the launch of the Bitwise Compound (COMP) Fund. The strategy will build on Bitwise’s growing suite of offerings in decentralized finance (DeFi), with the fund investing directly in COMP, the native token of the Compound protocol.

“You’d be hard pressed to find a more dynamic and disruptive movement in financial markets today than DeFi,” said Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise. “And one critical part of that space right now is Compound, which provides an efficient way for people to lend and borrow crypto assets — and whose community and governance have proven resilient. Our goal at Bitwise has always been to identify the most promising areas in crypto and to give investors the opportunity to understand and access them efficiently. That’s why we’re so excited to launch this fund.”

Compound’s software runs on the Ethereum network, enabling instant peer-to-peer lending and borrowing, with interest rates set and adjusted continually through algorithms governed by smart contracts. The ease with which users can lend or withdraw assets from Compound’s money market pools allows for greater liquidity and more efficient transactions for many of the most popular crypto assets. Moreover, the revenue-generating characteristics of Compound tokens have attracted increasing numbers of investors seeking alternatives to crypto assets like bitcoin that don’t produce cash flow. For the 30 days ended October 27, 2021, trading volume for COMP tokens exceeded $4.6 billion, with the tokens producing more than $29 million in revenue. And despite having more than $15 billion in deposits on the platform,² Compound’s current market cap stands under $2 billion; Ethereum, by contrast, is at $475 billion.³

The launch of the fund extends Bitwise’s leadership in the DeFi investing space, an area of particular interest today for investors looking to broaden their crypto exposure. Earlier in 2021, Bitwise launched the Bitwise DeFi Crypto Index Fund — the world’s first diversified basket of DeFi crypto assets — in addition to the Bitwise Uniswap (UNI) and Bitwise Aave (AAVE) Funds. As DeFi applications continue to gain popularity as innovative alternatives to traditional Wall Street services, Bitwise has seen growing demand from investors. The firm partners with investment professionals, today serving hundreds of RIAs, financial advisors, multifamily offices, hedge funds, and other institutional investors with a nationwide business development team.

The new Bitwise Compound Fund is currently available to accredited investors for private placement subscription with a $10,000 minimum investment and weekly redemptions. The manager intends to pursue public quotation of the fund with a ticker through OTCQX if and when it is eligible.

The custodian of the Bitwise Compound Fund is Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., which became the first federally chartered digital asset bank in U.S. history in January 2021, and today secures billions of dollars in crypto assets.

About Bitwise Asset Management

Based in San Francisco, Bitwise is one of the largest and fastest-growing crypto asset managers. As of October 31, 2021, Bitwise managed more than $1.7 billion across an expanding suite of investment solutions. The firm is known for managing the world’s largest crypto index fund (OTCQX: BITW) and pioneering products spanning bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, and crypto-focused equity indexes. Bitwise focuses on partnering with financial advisors and investment professionals to provide quality education and research. The team at Bitwise combines expertise in technology with decades of experience in traditional asset management and indexing, coming from firms including BlackRock, Blackstone, Facebook and Google, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bitwise is backed by leading institutional investors and asset management executives, and has been profiled in Institutional Investor, CNBC, Barron’s, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

RISK DISCLOSURE AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Carefully consider the investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses of any Bitwise investment product before investing. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee or assurance that the methodology used by Bitwise or any of the Bitwise investment products will result in any Bitwise investment product achieving positive investment returns or outperforming other investment products. There is no guarantee or assurance that an investor’s investment objectives will be met through an investment into any Bitwise investment product, and an investor may lose money. Investors into any Bitwise investment product should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of such investment product and the possibility of significant losses. Bitwise investment products involve a substantial degree of risk and are available only to institutional and individual accredited investors.

Certain of the Bitwise investment products may be subject to the risks associated with investing in crypto assets, including cryptocurrencies and crypto tokens. Because crypto assets are a new technological innovation with a limited history, they are a highly speculative asset. Future regulatory actions or policies may limit the ability to sell, exchange or use a crypto asset. The price of a crypto asset may be impacted by the transactions of a small number of holders of such crypto asset. Crypto assets may decline in popularity, acceptance or use, which may impact their price. The technology relating to crypto assets and blockchain is new and developing. Currently, there are a limited number of publicly listed or quoted companies for which crypto assets and blockchain technology represent an attributable and significant revenue stream.

The opinions expressed herein are intended to provide insight or education and are not intended as individual investment advice. Bitwise does not represent that this information is accurate and complete and it should not be relied upon as such.

This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding the funds or any security in particular. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Diversification may not protect against market risk. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market.

Bitwise may attempt to have shares of its investment products quoted on a secondary market. However, there is no guarantee this will be successful. Although the shares of certain Bitwise investment products have been approved for trading on a secondary market, investors in any other Bitwise investment product should not assume that the shares will ever obtain such an approval due to a variety of factors, including questions that regulators such as the SEC, FINRA or other regulatory bodies may have regarding the investment product. Shareholders of such investment products should be prepared to bear the risk of investment in the shares indefinitely.

This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal, nor shall there be any sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction. The offer and sale of these investment products have not been registered with or approved or disapproved of by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the securities commission or regulatory authority of any state or foreign jurisdiction.

^[1] As of October 31, 2021.^[2] Source: Dune Analytics. Data as of October 28, 2021.

^[3] Source: Token Terminal. Data as of October 28, 2021.

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