Amun Launches Exchange-Traded Product Using Bitwise Crypto Index

Swiss-based fintech firm Amun AG has released plans to launch a new exchange-traded product (ETP) that will use the Bitwise 10 Select Large Cap Crypto Index as a benchmark. This is the fifth ETP the Swiss SIX Exchange has permitted.

Bitwise Index Services, a subsidiary of Bitwise Asset Management, licenced its index for the first physically replicated crypto index product. The Amun Bitwise Select 10 Large Cap Crypto ETP is available to anyone outside the U.S., and will trade with the ticker symbol KEYS.

“We are thrilled to partner with Bitwise to bring the most broadly diversified crypto ETP to investors in Switzerland,” said Hany Rashwan, CEO of Amun. “Bitwise is the global leader in crypto indexing, and we are excited to launch a product that builds on their expertise.”

Bitwise develops, calculates, disseminates, and licenses cryptocurrency indexes and conducts research in the area of cryptocurrency investing. Its parent company Bitwise Asset Management created the first crypto index fund in 2017.

The Bitwise 10 Select Large Cap Crypto Index is designed to track the performance of up to 10 of the largest crypto assets in the world, as measured and weighted by free-float and inflation-adjusted market capitalization. Though it excludes privacy coins and Platform Dependent Tokens on third-party blockchains.

Constituent securities must meet a variety of criteria to qualify for the Index, including rules related to security, liquidity and institutional support, according to the press release. The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted on a monthly basis.

As of a rebalancing on May 31, the index is weighted with Bitcoin comprising 67.8 percent, Ethereum 11.5 percent, Ripple 8.33 percent, and Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and EOS comprising around 3 percent. Stellar and Cardano represent around 1 percent of the basket.

To serve as the underlying assets of the ETP, the index must be approved by SIX and must be both supported by appropriate market makers and available for custody at leading institutional custodians. Currently only eight cryptos make all the requirements.

However, “SIX is a forward-thinking regulator, however, and as the space matures, we expect to see more assets qualify,” said Matthew Hougan, Global Head of Research at Bitwise.

Coinbase Custody and Kingdom Trust currently serve as custodians, though the market makers have not been disclosed yet.

Amun previously released a number of crypto ETPs on the Swiss national market, including one holding the top five cryptocurrencies in a basket (HODL), and ones holding Bitcoin (ABTC), Ethereum (AETH), and Ripple (AXRP).

“Crypto is moving forward on its journey to becoming a mainstream, regulated financial asset,” said Hougan. “Nasdaq Nordic has also allowed crypto ETPs to launch, and regulators are deeply engaged in the US, Europe, and Canada. This is just the next step in that development.”

Swiss piggy bank via Shutterstock