- The SEC approved Bitwise’s bid to convert its multi-asset crypto index fund into an ETF on 22 July 2025 then issued a stay that halted the launch for further Commission review.
- The proposed ETF would hold bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana, cardano, sui, chainlink, avalanche, litecoin and polkadot and list on NYSE Arca under the ticker BITW.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission granted, and within hours suspended, approval for Bitwise Asset Management’s plan to convert its flagship 10-asset crypto index fund into an exchange-traded fund.
🚨 BREAKING: SEC APPROVES BITWISE ETF! 🗽✅$XRP now part of a fully REGULATED ETF alongside BTC, ETH, SOL, ADA, SUI, LINK, AVAX, LTC, DOT 🔥
This is MASSIVE Wall Street doors just opened for $XRP! pic.twitter.com/wk900tLQ1b
— 𝕏aif🇮🇳|🇺🇸 (@Xaif_Crypto) July 23, 2025
Bitwise Receives Initial Nod Amid Expanded Disclosure Regime
The conditional green light arrived late on 22 July, days after the SEC issued fresh guidance demanding fuller risk and custody disclosures from digital-asset issuers. Bitwise’s fund currently allocates about 78.7 per cent to bitcoin and 11.1 per cent to ether, with XRP accounting for just under 5 per cent.
Smaller weightings cover solana, cardano, sui, chainlink, avalanche, litecoin and polkadot. Coinbase Trust Company and BNY Mellon are slated to handle custody and fund administration respectively while NYSE Arca would host the ETF under the existing BITW ticker. If launched, the product would be the first US-listed fund to package XRP and ADA alongside the two dominant cryptocurrencies.
Stay Triggers Commission-Level Review and Extends Timeline
Within roughly six hours of publication, the SEC’s Office of the Secretary issued a formal stay pending a full Commission review, the same procedural manoeuvre used last year on Grayscale’s multi-asset GDLC conversion. The pause can extend up to 60 days, during which any Commissioner may request a vote to affirm or overturn the staff’s original approval order.
Market participants say the reversal highlights the agency’s internal divisions over whether tokens facing unresolved securities classifications — notably XRP and ADA — can coexist in a broad-based ETF without standalone spot approvals. Bitwise confirmed it will cooperate with the review while maintaining that its index methodology and third-party custody arrangements meet the SEC’s newly clarified disclosure standards. Traders reacted swiftly, with XRP falling almost nine per cent intraday before partially recovering on thin liquidity.
