Institutional Demand Supports Crypto as Bitwise marks five-year anniversary of listing its first European product

• Five-year anniversary of Bitwise Physical Bitcoin ETP (BTCE) listing - first spot crypto ETP on Deutsche Börse Xetra
• Use of German regulator approved prospectus, and an innovative, robust product structure contributed to broader market adoption
• Adding value: €100 invested into BTCE at launch would now be worth over €1,000¹ - long-term trends continue to support investor interest in digital assets
  
  

June 18, 2025. Frankfurt:Bitwise today celebrates the five-year anniversary of its first European product: the Bitwise Physical Bitcoin ETP (BTCE), the world’s first-ever centrally cleared Bitcoin ETP. The listing on 18 June 2020 marked Bitwise’s debut in European markets and became a catalyst for a wave of listings of crypto products on Xetra, Europe’s largest ETF trading venue.

Bradley Duke, Head of Europe at Bitwise, said: “Reaching the five-year mark is not just a milestone, it is also a point of reflection on our long-term vision and commitment to building transparent, reliable, and secure access to digital asset investments for European investors. Bitwise is 100% focused on crypto, but many of our experts come from traditional finance, putting us in a unique position to accompany investors on their journey into this new and unique investment class. We thank the pioneering investors and partners who believed in this asset class early on, and we look forward to continuing to serve the evolving needs of the market.”

Stephan Kraus, Head of ETF & ETP at Deutsche Boerse, said: “We congratulate Bitwise on the fifth anniversary of its Bitcoin ETP on Xetra. The listing of this pioneering product marked the start of our segment for crypto ETNs and was an important step towards giving investors access to the performance of cryptocurrencies in a regulated market environment. It was also the first centrally-cleared product of its kind in the world. As the largest trading venue for crypto ETNs in Europe, we greatly appreciate the partnership with Bitwise, and look forward to continued collaboration.”

A market benchmark for product design and transparency

BTCE is now one of Europe’s largest physically backed Bitcoin ETPs by assets under management and the most actively traded. Its structure — featuring full physical backing, physical redemption option, and a strict no-lending policy — has set a new standard for crypto ETP design and reflects the priorities of investors who demanded greater transparency from the outset. Bitwise is grateful to the early adopters who set high expectations and helped raise the standard across the industry.

Transparency remains central to Bitwise’s approach. Weekly balance reports are published by an independent administrator, and the blockchain addresses of Bitwise’s primary BTC and ETH product custody wallets are publicly disclosed, enabling any investor to verify collateral levels independently. To further reduce operational risk, Bitwise pioneered a safeguard mechanism requiring all crypto and securities asset movements to be approved by an independent transaction administrator, who holds a legally enforceable veto right embedded in the Bitwise ETP structure.

Bitwise’s management company is ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certified, reflecting its commitment to operational integrity. With no proprietary trading, Bitwise remains fully aligned with client interests.

As cryptoassets become an accepted component of diversified portfolios, Bitwise continues to support investors with practical tools and evidence-based insights. Internal analysis shows that adding a 5% allocation to Bitcoin within a traditional 60/40 portfolio between 2014 and 2025 would have increased average annual returns from 6.2% to 10.6%, with limited impact on volatility, drawdowns, or risk-adjusted returns.
Today, more than 250 crypto ETPs are listed across XETRA and other leading European exchanges. Bitwise’s offering has grown in tandem with investor demand, expanding beyond single asset strategies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana to include diversified crypto baskets and index-based staking ETPs.

Bitwise products are designed to integrate seamlessly into professional portfolios, offering exposure to cryptoassets through regulated vehicles— without the operational risks of holding a physical wallet. They are also accessible to individual investors via leading brokerage platforms, with features such as physical redemption included as standard.

Fundamental trends supporting the demand for crypto assets

Bitwise believes that a number of fundamental trends may support the value of crypto assets over the long term. In portfolio context, digital assets can be deployed as effective hedge against inflation that is not as susceptible to fiscal or global trade political agendas as traditional currencies. Crypto is more widely accepted by Gen Z investors, who are about to benefit from a wealth transfer from some of the richest generations that ever existed. Many coins have use cases that are independent of their use as a currency. And finally, crypto assets are a welcome solution for the unbanked or underbanked, particularly in parts of the world that are politically unstable. With crypto, access to a smartphone and the internet is enough to make payments.

Bitwise is continuing to launch innovative new products regularly, such as the Bitwise Diaman Bitcoin & Gold ETP launched in March. Bitwise ETPs can be seamlessly integrated into standard brokerage or ETF portfolio accounts and are often eligible for SIPP and ISA inclusion, making them accessible for long-term investment planning in the UK.

Resources:

Dedicated website for the 5 year anniversary of BTCE

About Bitwise

Bitwise is one of the world’s leading crypto specialist asset managers. Thousands of financial advisors, family offices, and institutional investors across the globe have partnered with us to understand and access the opportunities in crypto. Since 2017, Bitwise has established a track record of excellence, managing a broad suite of index and active solutions across ETPs, separately managed accounts, private funds, and hedge fund strategies – spanning both the U.S. and Europe.

In Europe, for the past five years Bitwise (formerly ETC Group) has developed an extensive and innovative suite of crypto ETPs, including Europe’s most traded bitcoin ETP, or the first diversified Crypto Basket ETP replicating an MSCI digital assets index.

This family of crypto ETPs is domiciled in Germany and issued under a base prospectus approved by BaFin. We exclusively partner with reputable entities from the traditional financial industry, ensuring that 100% of the assets are securely stored offline (cold storage) through regulated custodians.

Our European products comprise a collection of carefully designed financial instruments that seamlessly integrate into any professional portfolio, providing comprehensive exposure to crypto as an asset class. Access is straightforward via major European stock exchanges, with primary listings on Xetra, the most liquid exchange for ETF trading in Europe. Retail investors benefit from easy access through numerous DIY/online brokers, coupled with our robust and secure physical ETP structure, which includes a redemption feature. For more information, visit http://www.bitwiseinvestments.eu

Media contacts:

JEA Associates
John McLeod
00 44 7886 920436
john@jeaassociates.com

Important information
This press release does not constitute investment advice, nor does it constitute an offer or solicitation to buy financial products. This press release is issued by Bitwise Europe GmbH (“BEU”), a limited company domiciled in Germany, for information only and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. BEU gives no explicit or implicit assurance or guarantee regarding the fairness, accuracy, completeness, or correctness of this article or the opinions contained therein. It is advised not to rely on the fairness, accuracy, completeness, or correctness of this article or the opinions contained therein. Please note that this article is neither investment advice nor an offer or solicitation to acquire financial products or cryptocurrencies.

Before investing in crypto Exchange Traded Products (“ETPs”), potential investors should consider the following:
Potential investors should seek independent advice and consider relevant information contained in the base prospectus and the final terms for the ETPs, especially the risk factors. ETPs issued by BEU are suitable only for persons experienced in investing in cryptocurrencies and risks of investing can be found in the prospectus and final terms available on www.bitwiseinvestments.eu. The invested capital is at risk, and losses up to the amount invested are possible. ETPs backed by cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets and performance is unpredictable. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The market price of ETPs will vary and they do not offer a fixed income or match precisely the performance of the underlying cryptocurrency. Investing in ETPs involves numerous risks including general market risks relating to underlying, adverse price movements, currency, liquidity, operational, legal and regulatory risks.

¹ Bloomberg, BTCE GY, data from 18 June 2020 to 27 May 2025