Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Approved as Investment Option by $30B Network of Investment Advisors

The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust (BITB) recently received approval as an investment option for a $30 billion nationwide network of Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs). According to an X post from Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, advisors on the network can now allocate funds for investment in BITB.

RIA Approval and ETF Inflows Positive for Bitcoin

An RIA is a firm that performs an advisory role for clients interested in investments. It also provides general financial advice and helps clients to manage their investment portfolios. RIAs generally go through varying due diligence periods before endorsing or officially allocating funds to new investment products. In addition to the general health of the product, the RIA must also ensure the product complies with regulatory requirements.

The announcement confirms growing traditional interest in Bitcoin (BTC), in addition to the billions of dollars in inflows that the active ETFs have received since last month’s approval from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Increased traditional involvement, especially from a large RIA, could encourage skeptics to buy into one of the active funds.

Last month, Bitwise publicized the Bitcoin address for its ETF holdings. In an X post, the company noted that it had 11,858.63 BTC in Trust, valued at about $465 million at the time. As of this writing, blockchain data shows that the address has received a total of 18,886.6 BTC, which is over $987 million at current rates. The company’s decision to disclose the address signifies efforts at transparency and may also be another factor that encourages people to buy into BITB.

The ETFs are still recording large inflows as clients buy into their shares. BlackRock Inc’s IBIT ETF is in the lead, with 0.12% in fees, and $191.4 million recorded last Friday. While Ark Invest’s ARKB saw $140 million, Fidelity’s FBTC ranked third at $116.7 million. Grayscale, with 1.5% in fees, lost more than $150 million on the same day.

Bitcoin Continues to Rise

Bitcoin is trading above $52,300, according to data from CoinMarketCap. While the king coin has fallen about 0.06% in the last 24 hours, it has gained nearly 5% in five days. All of the excitement around spot ETFs and the upcoming halving are adding to the general activity on the Bitcoin network. This has also added to continuously positive predictions on the price of Bitcoin in the near future. For instance, popular entrepreneur and ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ author Robert Kiyosaki believes Bitcoin will hit $100K by June.

While others may not be as bullish as Kiyosaki, they believe that the king coin’s all-time high (ATH) of $69,000 is possible this year. FxPro Senior Market Analyst Alex Kuptsikevich recently predicted an aggressive rally when Bitcoin crossed $50,000. According to Kuptsikevich, the target is somewhere around $63.7k.

Reports also showed that last week, traders were already making calls and bets on Deribit, the world’s largest options exchange by volumes, that target the $69,000 ATH. Some trades also pushed the target up to $75,000.