Bitwise, an asset management firm, received significant BTC contributions and praise from the crypto community following the public disclosure of its Bitcoin ETF Trust (BITB) on-chain address. The move, announced on Jan. 24, made Bitwise the first of the 10 spot Bitcoin ETF issuers to share its holdings’ addresses publicly.

According to the company, this initiative will facilitate the easy verification of BITB holdings, aligning with the fundamental ethical principles of transparency within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Bitwise noted:

“Publishing on-chain addresses is a first step toward increasing public transparency. As infrastructure evolves, we hope to do more, such as working with firms like Hoseki to provide real-time cryptographic attestations.”

According to Bitwise co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley, the company had released the BTC address in response to “clear feedback” from the crypto community. A recent survey conducted by Horsley on Jan. 23 revealed that 91.1% of 2,416 respondents supported the idea of making BTC holdings public.

BTC Donations

Following the public disclosure, the wallet saw an influx of donations and tips, including over 16,000 inscriptions worth about $6,000. These inscriptions include two RSIC airdrops, one Bitcoin Burials, one Quadkey, one Bitcoin Punk, and numerous BRC-20 inscriptions. However, the account does not have any valid/active BRC-20 balances.

The donations have raised concerns about potential implications for the ETF. Market analyst Dylan LeClair has cautioned that the donations should not come from any non-OFAC compliant addresses.

Bitwise’s BITB stands out as one of the best-performing ETFs within the “Newborn Nine.” As of Jan. 23, Bitwise held approximately 11,858 BTC, valued at $472.98 million. Live data from the official website confirms that the Bitwise ETF address now contains 12,338 BTC valued at $492.97 million.

Announcement: Today the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) becomes the first U.S. bitcoin ETF to publish the bitcoin addresses of its holdings.

Now anyone can verify BITB's holdings and flows directly on the blockchain.

Onchain transparency is core to Bitcoin's ethos. We're proud to… pic.twitter.com/1JTUh3zvDE

— Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) January 24, 2024

Meanwhile, in a Jan. 25 post on X, Bloomberg’s analyst Eric Balchunas said this was the first time an underlying asset would be donated to an ETF. In a subsequent comment, he expressed skepticism about whether the donation could influence the price of BITB, as it circumvents the normal procedures of adding assets into an ETF. According to Balchunas, assets typically enter an ETF when Authorized Participants (AP) provide funds to the issuer.