Yesterday, Bitwise submitted an application to the SEC for the issuance of a spot ETF on Aptos.
The FORM S-1 has been filed on behalf of Bitwise Aptos ETF by Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC.
As far as is known, this is the first application submitted to the SEC for the issuance on the USA market of a spot ETF on Aptos.
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The Aptos project
“`Aptos is a level 1 blockchain founded by two former Facebook employees once as a competitor to Solana.
Its native cryptocurrency APT landed on the crypto markets in October 2022, in the midst of a bear-market, and has not yet taken off.
On the contrary, its market trend in the long term is essentially flat, although volatile.
The initial price was about $7.2, immediately dropping to $3.2 in a couple of months, due to the consequences on the crypto markets of the FTX collapse.
In 2023, it seemed instead that it could gain momentum, as it bounced back to historical highs, nearing $20 in January, but that bounce later turned out to be only temporary.
It should not be forgotten that, while Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum, continued to grow throughout 2023, primarily Solana, many altcoins instead returned to struggle, including the newly born Aptos. In fact, by October of the same year, its price had fallen back below $5.
Even with the bull run at the beginning of 2024, it recorded a rebound, still stopping below $19, but in the following months, it returned below $5.
With the last bullrun at the end of 2024, it barely managed to climb back above $14, only to return to $6 in February.
Therefore, since its inception two and a half years ago, it has done nothing but oscillate around the initial price of about $7, with three peaks above $10 and three below $6.
The news of Bitwise’s application to issue an ETF in the USA barely managed to bring its price from $5 to $6.
Bitwise wants to expand its offering of crypto ETFs with Aptos
Bitwise Asset Management is an asset management company specialized in cryptocurrencies, which aims to offer investors professional access to this market.
In particular, it deals with investment funds in cryptocurrencies such as ETF crypto.
The most important is definitely the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), with an AUM of approximately 3.8 billion dollars. It also has the Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), but of smaller dimensions.
The other Bitwise ETFs are based on baskets of cryptocurrencies, and not on single crypto.
For example, they have the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW), which tracks the prices of the 10 main cryptocurrencies weighted by market capitalization. They also have the Bitwise Trendwise BTC/ETH and Treasuries (BTOP), which combines exposure to Bitcoin with that to Ethereum and to US Treasury securities.
It is also worth mentioning the Bitwise Web3 ETF (BWEB), which focuses on companies involved in Web3, the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ), which provides exposure to companies that are at the forefront of innovation in the cryptocurrency sector, and the curious Bitwise Trendwise Bitcoin&TreasRotaStrat (BITC), which has a rotation strategy between Bitcoin and American treasury securities.
For now, in the USA markets, spot ETFs on other cryptos besides BTC and ETH have not yet been approved, but the launch of ETFs on altcoins like Litecoin, or Solana and XRP is expected for this same 2025.
Instead, on the Swiss stock exchange SIX Swiss Exchange, Bitwise has already launched the Aptos Staking ETP, which offers a 4.7% yield on staking profitability.
Bitwise proposes a spot ETF on Aptos
The Bitwise Aptos ETF is obviously not yet present in the markets because the application for issuance has just been submitted to the SEC.
Generally, the U.S. agency takes all the time possible before issuing its decision, so it will presumably take several months before it pronounces on the matter.
Furthermore, Bitwise still needs to submit the form 19b-4 for this Aptos application so that the SEC recognizes it, and only at that point does the 240-day period begin during which the agency will make its decision regarding it.
However, the Bitwise Aptos ETF does not include features based on Aptos staking, probably to facilitate its approval by the SEC.
The custodian of the APT indicated will be Coinbase Custody, while it has not yet been specified on which exchange it will be listed.
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