Key Takeaways
- Bitwise partnered with Superstate to tokenize fund shares, with BSOL expected to be first.
- Bitwise’s $9B platform could push regulated ETF ownership further onto blockchain rails.
- BSOL tokenization still needs legal clearance as Bitwise reduces staff headcount.
Bitwise Taps Superstate to Bring ETF Shares Onchain
Bitwise Asset Management is preparing to bring shares of its exchange-traded funds onchain, starting with a potential tokenized version of its Solana staking product.
The crypto asset manager has partnered with Superstate to develop infrastructure that would allow investors to hold certain Bitwise fund shares as blockchain-based tokens. The plan would not create a new security or alter the underlying fund. Instead, tokenization would change how ownership is recorded.
“Investors would continue to purchase the same shares of the applicable fund, with the same rights, through the same channels as today,” Bitwise said.
Shareholders could then choose between conventional book-entry ownership through the Depository Trust Company or a tokenized record maintained through Superstate’s transfer-agent infrastructure.
BSOL Could Be First Fund to Move Onchain
Bitwise expects its Solana Staking ETF, trading under the ticker BSOL, to be the first fund offered with the tokenized option.
Tokenized shares would carry the same rights as conventional shares. However, they would not be freely transferable outside the approved recordkeeping system, limiting the kind of unrestricted movement associated with many crypto tokens.
The design reflects a broader trend in traditional finance: placing regulated securities on blockchain rails without changing their legal status.
Superstate specializes in helping issuers and asset managers bring securities onchain. Under the proposed structure, its infrastructure would maintain blockchain-based ownership records while preserving the fund’s existing regulatory framework.
Bitwise cautioned that the initiative remains subject to legal and regulatory requirements. There is no guarantee that tokenized shares will become available for BSOL or any other fund.
Tokenization Push Comes During Cost Cuts
The partnership extends Bitwise’s effort to connect regulated investment products with crypto-native infrastructure.
Bitwise manages about $9 billion in client assets across more than 70 products, including ETFs, private funds, separately managed accounts, decentralized finance strategies and staking products.
The tokenization push comes during a period of internal restructuring. Earlier this week, Bitwise confirmed that it had cut 14% of its workforce, reducing global headcount to 155.
The timing underscores two parallel priorities: controlling costs while continuing to invest in new distribution models.
If the Superstate framework moves forward, Bitwise will offer investors two ways to own the same fund share, one through traditional market infrastructure and another recorded onchain.
That distinction may prove important. The next phase of tokenization is increasingly less about creating new assets and more about changing the infrastructure beneath existing ones.
