Bitwise Asset Management and Amun AG have joined hands to create a new exchange-traded product (ETP) in Switzerland. The Amun Bitwise Select 10 ETP will be listed on Switzerland’s SIX exchange. It tracks the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index, an index designed by Bitwise Index Services LLC, the index calculation subsidiary of San Francisco-based Bitwise Asset Management.
The Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index tracks the world’s ten largest cryptoassets by market cap. The assets included in the index must meet a variety of criteria that span technology to liquidity to institutional support requirements. Current members of the index are as follows:
| Asset | Ticker | Weight |
| Bitcoin | BTC | 67.80% |
| Ethereum | ETH | 11.50% |
| XRP (Ripple) | XRP | 8.33% |
| Bitcoin Cash | BCH | 3.52% |
| Litecoin | LTC | 3.47% |
| EOS | EOS | 3.36% |
| Lumens (Stellar) | XLM | 1.10% |
| Cardano | ADA | 0.90% |
Amun already has three ETPs traded on the SIX exchange. The Amun Crypto Basket ETF was launched last November under the ticker HODL and the Amun Bitcoin ETP and Amun Ethereum ETP were listed in February and March of this year.
In a statement to online publication The Block, Amun AG stated that all four ETPs are “heavily traded” on SIX. “Of all the existing crypto products currently listed globally, the Amun Bitwise ETP is uniquely the most diversified listed crypto product,” stated Hany Rashwan, CEO of Amun AG. The Amun ETPs are not governed or supervised by Swiss financial authorities and, as such, do not come with regulatory protections accorded to standard investors.
More Indexes To Come: Bitwise
Bitwise’s indexes serve as benchmark for more than 40 institutional cryptoasset managers, hedge funds, and researchers, according to Matthew Hougan, head of research at the firm. The company has plans to introduce more index products and services in the future. “The crypto market changes very fast, so our goal is to stay on top of those changes and continue to lead the charge on crypto indexing,” said Hougan.
Earlier this year, the firm released a widely-circulated report about fake volumes at cryptocurrency exchanges. Crypto markets were recovering from the throes of a brutal winter during which valuations for large coins crashed. Recently, however, the tide has turned and prices have rallied after Facebook announced its entry into cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
The news has been good for Bitwise’s indexes. Hougan says the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index Fund has jumped by 157% in the last three months while the Bitwise Bitcoin Fund has skyrocketed by 190%.
But he discounts the role of Facebook’s foray as a causative factor for the increases. According to him, 2018, when bitcoin price crashed by more than 90 percent, was an “amazing year” for crypto because several institutional firms decided to enter the markets and progress was made on regulatory clarity for the asset class. “All of that’s come home to roost in 2019,” he says.
The upside of these developments is that more people are interested in crypto investing. “Of course, the market could consolidate from here … but the percentage of people who think crypto is “going away” is shrinking quickly, and the percentage of people who think they want to allocate to the space is growing well,” said Hougan.