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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-Q

 

 

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2025.

or

Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the transition period from to .

Commission File Number: 001-42159

 

 

BITWISE ETHEREUM ETF

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Delaware

99-6361348

(State or other jurisdiction of

(I.R.S. Employer

incorporation or organization)

Identification No.)

 

Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC

250 Montgomery Street, Suite 200

San Francisco, California 94104

(415) 707-3663

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s primary executive offices)

 

Title of each class:

 

Trading Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange on which registered:

Bitwise Ethereum ETF Shares

 

ETHW

 

NYSE Arca, Inc.

 

 

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large Accelerated Filer

 

Accelerated Filer

 

 

 

 

 

Non-Accelerated Filer

 

Smaller Reporting Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emerging Growth Company

 

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided in Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act.). Yes No

The registrant had 12,980,000 outstanding shares as of May 9, 2025.

 

 

 


 

STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Quarterly Report”) includes “forward-looking statements” with respect to the financial conditions, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business of Bitwise Ethereum ETF (the “Trust”). In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” the negative of these terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify some of the forward-looking statements. All statements (other than statements of historical fact) included in this Quarterly Report that address activities, events, or developments that will or may occur in the future, including such matters as movements in the crypto asset markets, the Trust's operations, the plans of Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC (the “Sponsor”), and references to the Trust’s future success and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially from such statements. These statements are based upon certain assumptions and analyses the Sponsor has made based on its perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors appropriate in the circumstances.

Whether or not actual results and developments will conform to the Sponsor’s expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, any risk factors described in Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors or other sections of the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 17, 2025.

Factors which could have a material adverse effect on the Trust's business, financial condition or results of operations and future prospects or which could cause actual results to differ materially from the Trust's expectations include, but are not limited to:

the special considerations discussed in this Quarterly Report;
the extreme volatility of the trading price that ether has experienced in recent periods and may continue to experience, which could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares of the Trust;
the recentness of the development of ether and other crypto assets, and the uncertain medium-to-long term value of the Shares due to a number of factors relating to the capabilities and technology developments regarding the use of ether and other crypto assets and to the fundamental investment characteristics of ether and other crypto assets;
the value of the Shares depending on the acceptance of ether and blockchain technologies, a new and rapidly evolving industry;
the unregulated nature and lack of transparency surrounding the operations of blockchain technologies and crypto assets, which may adversely affect the value of ether and the Shares;
the limited history of the Trust;
the possibility that the Shares may trade at a price that is at, above or below the Trust’s NAV per-share;
changes in laws or regulations, or actions taken by governmental authorities or U.S. federal or state regulatory bodies, including the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, that may affect the value of the Shares or restrict the use of ether or other crypto assets, the operation of Ethereum network, the cryptocurrency market, or the operation of the Trust, in a manner that adversely affects the value of the Shares;
the possibility that the Trust or the Sponsor could be subject to regulation as a money service business or money transmitter, which could result in extraordinary expenses to the Trust or the Sponsor and also result in decreased liquidity for the Shares;
regulatory changes or interpretations, including those arising from the SEC’s increasing focus on digital asset regulation through initiatives such as the Crypto Task Force, that could obligate the Trust or the Sponsor to register and comply with new regulations, resulting in potentially extraordinary, nonrecurring expenses to the Trust;
potential conflicts of interest that may arise among the Sponsor or its affiliates and the Trust;
the Trust’s reliance on the security, stability, and performance of its service providers, including the Ether Custodian, Cash Custodian, Prime Execution Agent, and other intermediaries, which may be subject to operational failures, conflicts of interest, tariffs imposed by the United States or other jurisdictions affecting service providers or infrastructure, and regulatory actions, potentially adversely affecting its operations and the value of the Shares;
general economic, market and business conditions, and political developments, including, without limitation, evolving trade policies and tariffs imposed by the United States or other countries, global pandemics, inflationary pressures, geopolitical tensions, and government responses thereto, which could negatively impact the value of the Trust’s holdings in ether and significantly disrupt its operations; and

 


 

any additional risk factors discussed in Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors and Part I, Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as well as those described from time to time in the Trust’s future reports filed with the SEC.

 

All the forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments the Sponsor anticipates will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the expected consequences to, or have the expected effects on, the Trust’s operations or the value of the Shares.

 

Should one or more of these risks discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” or other uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made based on the Sponsor’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made, and neither the Trust nor the Sponsor is under a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform such statements to actual results or to reflect a change in the Sponsor’s expectations or predictions, other than as required by applicable laws. Investors are therefore cautioned against relying on forward-looking statements.

 


 

EMERGING GROWTH COMPANY STATUS

The Trust is an emerging growth companyas that term is used in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act”) and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced reporting requirements. For as long as the Trust is an emerging growth company, unlike other public companies, it will not be required to:

provide an auditor’s attestation report on management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;
comply with any new requirements adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) requiring mandatory auditor rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report in which the auditor would be required to provide additional information about the audit and the financial statements of the issuer;
comply with any new audit rules adopted by the PCAOB after April 5, 2012, unless the Securities and Exchange Commission determines otherwise;
provide certain disclosure regarding executive compensation required of larger public companies; or
obtain shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

The Trust will cease to be an “emerging growth company” upon the earliest of (i) when it has $1.235 billion or more in total annual gross revenues during its most recently completed fiscal year; (ii) when it is deemed to be a large accelerated filer under Rule 12b-2 promulgated pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; (iii) when it has issued more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period; or (iv) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of its initial public offering.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies; however, the Trust is choosing to “opt out” of such extended transition period, and as a result, the Trust will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that the Trust’s decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.

 


 

Bitwise ETHEREUM ETF

Table of Contents

 

 

 

Page

Part I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1. Financial Statements (Unaudited)

 

1

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

13

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

17

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

17

 

 

 

Part II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

 

18

Item 1A. Risk Factors

 

18

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

18

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

18

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

 

18

Item 5. Other Information

 

18

Item 6. Exhibits

 

19

Glossary

 

20

Signatures

 

24

 

 


 

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Item 1. Financial Statements (Unaudited)

 

BITWISE ETHEREUM ETF

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

(Amounts in thousands, except Share and per-share amounts)

 

 

March 31, 2025

 

 

December 31, 2024

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment in ether, at fair value (cost $299,763 and $394,302, respectively)

 

$

173,794

 

 

$

404,529

 

 

Cash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

 

173,794

 

 

 

404,529

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sponsor Fee payable

 

 

32

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

 

32

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets

 

$

173,762

 

 

$

404,529

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares issued and outstanding, no par value, unlimited amount authorized

 

 

13,260,000

 

 

 

16,880,000

 

 

Principal Market NAV per share

 

$

13.10

 

 

$

23.96

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

1


 

BITWISE ETHEREUM ETF

SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENT

(Amounts in thousands, except quantity of ether and percentages)

 

March 31, 2025 (Unaudited)

 

 

 

Quantity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage of

 

 

 

 

of ether

 

 

Cost

 

 

Fair Value

 

 

Net Assets

 

 

Investment in ether^

 

 

95,108.4265

 

 

$

299,763

 

 

$

173,794

 

 

 

100.02

 

%

Total Investment

 

 

 

 

$

299,763

 

 

 

173,794

 

 

 

100.02

 

 

Liabilities in excess of other assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(32

)

 

 

(0.02

)

 

Net Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

173,762

 

 

 

100.00

 

%

 

December 31, 2024

 

 

Quantity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage of

 

 

 

 

of ether

 

 

Cost

 

 

Fair Value

 

 

Net Assets

 

 

Investment in ether^

 

 

121,101.8582

 

 

$

394,302

 

 

$

404,529

 

 

 

100.00

 

%

Total Investment

 

 

 

 

$

394,302

 

 

 

404,529

 

 

 

100.00

 

 

Liabilities in excess of other assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

404,529

 

 

 

100.00

 

%

 

^ Crypto assets do not have a singular country or geographic region, therefore country information is omitted.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

2


 

Bitwise ETHEREUM ETF

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

(Amounts in thousands)

 

 

Three months ended March 31, 2025*

 

 

(unaudited)

 

Investment income

 

 

 

Investment income

 

$

 

Expenses

 

 

 

Sponsor Fee

 

 

136

 

Total Expenses

 

 

136

 

Less: Waivers and Reimbursement

 

 

(43

)

Net Expenses

 

 

93

 

Net investment loss

 

 

(93

)

 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

 

 

 

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether transferred to pay Sponsor Fee

 

 

2

 

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether sold for redemptions

 

 

(13,641

)

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investment in ether

 

 

(136,196

)

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

 

 

(149,835

)

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

 

$

(149,928

)

 

* No comparative financial statements have been provided as the Trust’s operations commenced on July 22, 2024.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

3


 

Bitwise ETHEREUM ETF

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

(Amounts in thousands, except change in Shares issued and redeemed)

 

 

Three months ended March 31, 2025*

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

 

Increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

 

 

 

 

Net investment loss

 

$

(93

)

 

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether transferred to pay Sponsor Fee

 

 

2

 

 

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether sold for redemptions

 

 

(13,641

)

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

 

 

(136,196

)

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

 

 

(149,928

)

 

 

 

 

 

Increase (decrease) in net assets from capital share transactions

 

 

 

 

Creations for Shares issued

 

 

23,177

 

 

Redemptions for Shares redeemed

 

 

(104,016

)

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from capital share transactions

 

 

(80,839

)

 

Total increase (decrease) in net assets from operations and capital share transactions

 

 

(230,767

)

 

Net assets

 

 

 

 

Beginning of period

 

 

404,529

 

 

End of period

 

$

173,762

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares issued and redeemed

 

 

 

 

Shares issued

 

 

1,100,000

 

 

Shares redeemed

 

 

(4,720,000

)

 

Net increase (decrease) in Shares issued and outstanding

 

 

(3,620,000

)

 

 

* No comparative financial statements have been provided as the Trust’s operations commenced on July 22, 2024.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

 

4


 

Bitwise ETHEREUM ETF

Statement of Cash Flows

(Amounts in thousands)

 

 

Three months ended March 31, 2025*

 

 

(unaudited)

 

Cash flow from operating activities

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

 

$

(149,928

)

Adjustments to reconcile net increase in net assets resulting from operations to net
   cash provided by (used in) operating activities:

 

 

 

Purchases of ether

 

 

(20,853

)

Transfer of ether to pay Sponsor Fee

 

 

101,693

 

Proceeds from ether sold

 

 

60

 

Net realized (gain) loss from investment in ether transferred to pay Sponsor Fee

 

 

(2

)

Net realized (gain) loss from investment in ether sold for redemptions

 

 

13,641

 

Net change in unrealized (appreciation) on investment in ether

 

 

136,196

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

Increase (Decrease) in Sponsor Fee payable

 

 

32

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

 

 

80,839

 

 

 

 

Cash flow from financing activities

 

 

 

Creations for Shares issued

 

 

23,177

 

Redemptions for Shares redeemed

 

 

(104,016

)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

 

 

(80,839

)

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash

 

 

 

Cash, beginning of period

 

 

 

Cash, end of period

 

$

 

 

* No comparative financial statements have been provided as the Trust’s operations commenced on July 22, 2024.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

5


 

BITWISE ETHEREUM ETF

Notes to Financial Statements

March 31, 2025 (Unaudited)

1. Organization

Bitwise Ethereum ETF (the “Trust”), is an investment trust organized on February 16, 2024, under Delaware law pursuant to a Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement (the “Trust Agreement”). The Trust’s investment objective is to seek to provide exposure to the value of ether held by the Trust, less the expenses of the Trust’s operations, generally just the sponsor’s management fee. In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Trust’s sole asset is ether. The Trust is an Exchange Traded Product (“ETP”) that issues common shares of beneficial interest (“Shares”) that are listed on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) under the ticker symbol “ETHW,” providing investors with an efficient means to obtain market exposure to the price of ether.

Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC (the “Sponsor”) serves as the Sponsor for the Trust. The Sponsor arranged for the creation of the Trust and is responsible for the ongoing registration of the Shares for their public offering in the U.S. and the listing of Shares on the Exchange. The Sponsor develops a marketing plan for the Trust, prepares marketing materials regarding the Shares, and operates the marketing plan of the Trust on an ongoing basis. The Sponsor also oversees the additional service providers of the Trust and exercises managerial control of the Trust as permitted under the Trust Agreement. The Sponsor has agreed to pay all normal operating expenses of the Trust (except for litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses) out of the Sponsor’s unitary management fee (the “Sponsor Fee”) and may determine in its sole discretion to assume legal fees and expenses of the Trust in excess of $500,000 per annum. The Sponsor also paid the costs of the Trust’s organization.

Delaware Trust Company acts as the trustee of the Trust (the “Trustee”) for the purpose of creating a Delaware statutory trust in accordance with the Delaware Statutory Trust Act (“DSTA”) which requires that the Trust have at least one trustee with a principal place of business in the State of Delaware.

The Trust purchases and sells ether directly, and it creates or redeems its Shares in cash-settled transactions in blocks of 10,000 Shares at the Trust’s net asset value (“NAV”) per-share and only in transactions with financial firms that are authorized to purchase or redeem Shares with the Trust (each, an “Authorized Participant”). An Authorized Participant will deliver, or cause to be delivered, cash to the Trust when it purchases Shares from the Trust, and the Trust will deliver cash to an Authorized Participant, or its designee, when it redeems Shares with the Trust. Authorized Participants, and their customers, may then, in turn, offer Shares to the public at prices that depend on various factors, including the supply and demand for Shares, the value of the Trust’s assets, and market conditions at the time of a transaction. Investors who buy or sell Shares during the day from their broker may do so at a premium or discount relative to the NAV of the Shares.

The Trust's registration statement on Form S-1 relating to its continuous public offering of Shares was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 22, 2024 and the Shares of the Trust were listed on the Exchange on July 23, 2024.

The statement of assets and liabilities and schedule of investment as of March 31, 2025, and the statements of operations, cash flows, and changes in net assets for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, have been prepared on behalf of the Trust and are unaudited. In the opinion of management of the Sponsor of the Trust, all adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position and results of operations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, and for all interim periods presented have been made. In addition, interim period results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full-year period.

Prior to the commencement of operations on July 22, 2024, on May 28, 2024, Bitwise Asset Management, Inc. ("BAM"), the parent of the Sponsor, purchased 8 Shares at a per-share price of $25.00 for $200.00 in a transaction exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the 1933 Act (the “Seed Shares”). Delivery of the Seed Shares was made on May 28, 2024. On July 22, 2024, BAM redeemed the entirety of its 8 Seed Shares for $200.00. Additionally, on July 22, 2024, Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC (“BIM”), an affiliate of the Sponsor, purchased the initial 100,000 Shares of the Trust (the “Seed Baskets”) for $2,500,000, at $25.00 per share. BIM acted as a statutory underwriter in connection with the initial purchase of the Seed Baskets. On July 23, 2024, BIM sold all of its 100,000 Shares of the Trust for cash.

6


 

2. Significant Accounting Policies

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Trust in the preparation of its financial statements.

Basis of Presentation

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The Trust is an investment company and follows the specialized accounting and reporting guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC” or “Codification”) Topic 946, Financial Services—Investment Companies.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of these financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash

Generally, the Trust does not intend to hold any cash. Cash includes non-interest-bearing unrestricted cash with one institution. Cash in a bank deposit account, at times, may exceed U.S. federally insured limits. The Trust has not experienced any losses in such accounts and does not believe it is exposed to any significant credit risk on such bank deposits.

Investment Transactions and Revenue Recognition

The Trust records its investment transactions on a trade date basis and changes in fair value are reflected as net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investment in ether. Realized gains and losses are calculated using the specific identification method. Realized gains and losses are recognized in connection with transactions including settling obligations for the Sponsor Fee in ether.

Investment Valuation - Principal Market NAV

U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price the Trust would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Trust’s policy is to value investments at fair value.

For financial statement reporting, the Trust identifies and determines the ether principal market (or in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market) for U.S. GAAP purposes consistent with the application of the fair value measurement framework in FASB ASC Topic 820. A principal market is the market with the greatest volume and activity level for the asset or liability. The Principal Market NAV and the Principal Market NAV per-share are calculated using the fair value of ether based on the price provided by this exchange market, as of 4:00 p.m. ET on the measurement date for U.S. GAAP purposes. The Trust determines its principal market (or in the absence of a principal market the most advantageous market) on a quarterly basis to determine which market is its principal market for the purpose of calculating fair value for the creation of quarterly and annual financial statements.

Specifically, the Trust utilizes a third-party valuation vendor, Lukka, Inc., to identify publicly available, well established and reputable crypto asset exchanges selected by Lukka, Inc. in their sole discretion, including Binance, Bitfinex, Bitflyer, Bitstamp, Bullish, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gate.io, Gemini, HitBTC, Huobi, itBit, Kraken, KuCoin, LMAX, MEXC Global, OKX, and Poloniex, and then calculating, on each valuation period, the highest volume exchange during the 60 minutes prior to 4:00 p.m. ET for ether. The Sponsor then identifies that market as the principal market for ether during that period, and uses the price for ether from that venue at 4:00 ET as the principal market price. In evaluating the markets that could be considered principal markets, the Trust considered whether the specific markets were accessible to the Trust, either directly or through an intermediary, at the end of each period.

At March 31, 2025, the principal market and the Principal market price for ether, which comprised the majority of the Trust’s assets for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, was Crypto.com with a price of $1,827.33 as of March 31, 2025.

7


 

Various inputs are used to determine the fair value of assets and liabilities. Inputs may be based on independent market data (“observable inputs”) or they may be internally developed (“unobservable inputs”). These inputs are categorized into a disclosure hierarchy consisting of three broad levels for financial reporting purposes. The level of a value determined for an asset or liability within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:

Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly, including quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not considered to be active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means; and

Level 3: Unobservable inputs, including the Trust's assumptions used in determining the fair value of investments, where there is little or no market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date.

The cost basis of the investment in ether recorded by the Trust for financial reporting purposes is the fair value of ether at the time of transfer. The cost basis recorded by the Trust may differ from the proceeds collected by the Authorized Participant from the sale of the corresponding Shares to investors.

The following summarizes the Trust’s assets accounted for at fair value at March 31, 2025 (amounts in thousands):

 

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Level 3

 

 

Total

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment in ether, at fair value

 

$

173,794

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

173,794

 

 

The following summarizes the Trust’s assets accounted for at fair value at December 31, 2024 (amounts in thousands):

 

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Level 3

 

 

Total

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment in ether, at fair value

 

$

404,529

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

404,529

 

Calculation of Net Asset Value (NAV) and NAV Per-Share

On each business day, as soon as practicable after 4:00 p.m. ET, the NAV of the Trust is obtained by subtracting all accrued fees and other liabilities of the Trust from the fair value of the ether and other assets held by the Trust. The Bank of New York Mellon (the “Administrator”) computes the NAV per-share by dividing the NAV of the Trust by the number of Shares outstanding on the date the computation is made.

Income Taxes

The Trust is classified as a “grantor trust” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Trust itself is not subject to U.S. federal income tax. Instead, the Trust’s income and expenses “flow through” to the shareholders, and the Administrator reports the Trust’s income, gains, losses, and deductions to the Internal Revenue Service on that basis. The Sponsor has analyzed applicable tax laws and regulations and their application to the Trust, and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability as of March 31, 2025. The Trust is required to determine whether its tax positions are more likely than not to be sustained on examination by the applicable taxing authority, based on the technical merits of the position. Tax positions not deemed to meet a more likely than not threshold would be recorded as a tax expense in the current year. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Trust has determined that no provision for income taxes is required and no liability for unrecognized tax benefits has been recorded. The Trust does not expect that its assessment related to unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next 12 months. However, the Trust’s conclusions may be subject to review and adjustment at a later date based on factors including, but not limited to, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions; compliance with U.S. federal, U.S. state, and tax laws of jurisdictions in which the Trust operates in; and changes in the administrative practices and precedents of the relevant

8


 

authorities. The Trust is required to analyze all open tax years. Open tax years are those years that are open for examination by the relevant income taxing authority. As of March 31, 2025, all tax years since inception remain open for examination. There were no examinations in progress at period end.

Organizational and Offering Costs

The costs of the Trust’s organization and the initial offering of the Shares are borne directly by the Sponsor. The Trust is not obligated to reimburse the Sponsor.

3. Fair Value of Ether

As of March 31, 2025, the Trust held a net closing balance of 95,108.4265 ether with a total market value of $174,674,234 based on the CME CF Ether - Dollar Reference Rate - New York Variant ("Pricing Index") price of $1,836.58, used to determine the Trust's NAV. The total market value of the Trust's ether held was $173,794,481 based on the price of ether (Lukka Prime Rate) in the principal market (Crypto.com) of $1,827.33, used to determine the Trust's Principal Market NAV.

 

The following represents the changes in quantity of ether and the respective fair value for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025:

 

 

Quantity of ether

 

 

Fair Value
(amounts in thousands)

 

Beginning balance as of December 31, 2024

 

 

121,101.8582

 

 

$

404,529

 

Purchases

 

 

7,173.6589

 

 

 

20,853

 

Sales for the redemption of Shares

 

 

(33,142.6922

)

 

 

(101,693

)

Ether transferred for Sponsor Fee

 

 

(24.3984

)

 

 

(60

)

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether transferred to pay Sponsor Fee

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether sold for redemptions

 

 

 

 

 

(13,641

)

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investment in ether

 

 

 

 

 

(136,196

)

Ending balance as of March 31, 2025

 

 

95,108.4265

 

 

$

173,794

 

 

As of December 31, 2024 the Trust held a net closing balance of 121,101.8582 ether with a total market value of $405,188,652 based on the Pricing Index price of $3,345.85, used to determine the Trust's NAV. The total market value of the Trust's ether held was $404,528,647 based on the price of an ether (Lukka Prime Rate) in the principal market (Crypto.com) of $3,340.40, used to determine the Trust's Principal Market NAV.

 

The following represents the changes in quantity of ether and the respective fair value for the period from July 22, 2024 (commencement of operations) to December 31, 2024:

 

 

Quantity of ether

 

 

Fair Value
(amounts in thousands)

 

Beginning balance as of July 22, 2024 (commencement of operations)

 

 

 

 

$

 

Purchases

 

 

136,813.5326

 

 

 

453,518

 

Sales for the redemption of Shares

 

 

(15,711.6744

)

 

 

(49,804

)

Ether transferred for Sponsor Fee

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether transferred to pay Sponsor Fee

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized gain (loss) on investment in ether sold for redemptions

 

 

 

 

 

(9,412

)

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investment in ether

 

 

 

 

 

10,227

 

Ending balance as of December 31, 2024

 

 

121,101.8582

 

 

$

404,529

 

 

 

9


 

4. Related Party Transactions and Agreements

The Trust pays a Sponsor Fee of 0.20% per annum of the Trust’s ether holdings. For the six-month period commencing on July 23, 2024, the day the Shares were initially listed on the Exchange, the Sponsor waived the entire Sponsor Fee on the first $500 million of Trust assets through January 22, 2025.

The Sponsor Fee is paid by the Trust to the Sponsor as compensation for services performed under the Trust Agreement and Sponsor Agreement. After the period during which all or a portion of the Sponsor Fee was waived, the Sponsor Fee has been accruing daily, since January 22, 2025, and is payable in ether monthly in arrears. The Administrator calculates the Sponsor Fee on a daily basis by applying a 0.20% annualized rate to the Trust’s total ether holdings, and the amount of ether payable in respect of each daily accrual shall be determined by reference to the Pricing Index. The NAV of the Trust is reduced each day by the amount of the Sponsor Fee calculated each day. On or about the last day of each month, an amount of ether will be transferred from the Trust Ether Account to the Sponsor Ether Account equal to the sum of all daily Sponsor Fees accrued for the month in U.S. dollars divided by the Pricing Index on the last day of the month. The Trust is not responsible for paying any fees or costs associated with transferring of ether to the Sponsor. In exchange for the Sponsor Fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume and pay the normal operating expenses of the Trust, which include the Trustee’s monthly fee and out-of-pocket expenses, the fees of the Trust’s regular service providers (Cash Custodian, Ether Custodian, Prime Execution Agent, Marketing Agent, Transfer Agent and Administrator), exchange listing fees, tax reporting fees, SEC registration fees, printing and mailing costs, audit fees and up to $500,000 per annum in ordinary legal fees and expenses. The Sponsor may determine in its sole discretion to assume legal fees and expenses of the Trust in excess of $500,000 per annum. The Sponsor also agreed to pay the costs of the Trust’s organization.

The Trust may incur certain extraordinary, non-recurring expenses that are not assumed by the Sponsor, including but not limited to, taxes and governmental charges, any applicable brokerage commissions, financing fees, Ethereum network fees and similar transaction fees, expenses and costs of any extraordinary services performed by the Sponsor (or any other service provider) on behalf of the Trust to protect the Trust or the Shareholders (including, for example, in connection with any fork of the Ethereum blockchain, any Incidental Rights and any IR Asset, any indemnification of the Cash Custodian, Ether Custodian, Prime Execution Agent, Transfer Agent, Administrator or other agents, service providers or counterparties of the Trust, and extraordinary legal fees and expenses, including any legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with litigation, regulatory enforcement or investigation matters.

See Note 1 for further discussion on related party capital transactions. As of March 31, 2025, the Sponsor owned no Shares of the Trust.

5. Creation and Redemption of Shares

When the Trust creates or redeems its Shares, it does so only in Baskets (blocks of 10,000 Shares) based on the quantity of ether attributable to each Share of the Trust (net of accrued expenses and liabilities) multiplied by the number of Shares comprising a Basket (10,000). This is called the “Basket Amount.”

The Transfer Agent will facilitate the settlement of Shares in response to the placement of creation orders and redemption orders from Authorized Participants. The Trust has entered into the Cash Custody Agreement with BNY Mellon under which BNY Mellon acts as custodian of the Trust’s cash and cash equivalents. The Trust only creates or redeems its Shares at NAV.

Authorized Participants are the only persons that may place orders to create and redeem Baskets. Authorized Participants must be (1) registered broker-dealers or other securities market participants, such as banks and other financial institutions, that are not required to register as broker-dealers to engage in securities transactions described below, and (2) DTC Participants. To become an Authorized Participant, a person must enter into an Authorized Participant Agreement. The Authorized Participant Agreement provides the procedures for the creation and redemption of Baskets and for the delivery of the cash or Shares required for such creation and redemptions. The Authorized Participant Agreement and the related procedures attached thereto may be amended by the Trust, without the consent of any Shareholder or Authorized Participant. Authorized Participants must pay the Transfer Agent a non-refundable fee for each order they place to create or redeem one or more Baskets. The transaction fee may be waived, reduced, increased or otherwise changed by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. Authorized Participants who make deposits with the Trust in exchange for Baskets receive no fees, commissions or other form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either the Trust or the Sponsor, and no such person has any obligation or responsibility to the Sponsor or the Trust to effect any sale or resale of Shares.

10


 

Each Authorized Participant is required to be registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and a member in good standing with FINRA, or exempt from being or otherwise not required to be licensed as a broker-dealer or a member of FINRA, and is qualified to act as a broker or dealer in the states or other jurisdictions where the nature of its business so requires. Certain Authorized Participants may also be regulated under federal and state banking laws and regulations. Each Authorized Participant has its own set of rules and procedures, internal controls and information barriers as it determines is appropriate in light of its own regulatory regime.

6. Concentration of Risk

Substantially all the Trust’s assets are holdings of ether, which creates a concentration risk associated with fluctuations in the price of ether. Accordingly, a decline in the price of ether will have an adverse effect on the value of the Shares of the Trust. The trading prices of ether have experienced extreme volatility in recent periods and may continue to fluctuate significantly. Extreme volatility in the future, including substantial, sustained, or rapid declines in the trading prices of ether, could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares and the Shares could lose all or substantially all of their value. Factors adversely impacting the value of ether and the Shares may include an increase in the global ether supply or a decrease in global ether demand; market conditions of, and overall sentiment towards, the crypto assets and blockchain technology industry; trading activity on crypto asset exchanges, which, in many cases, are largely unregulated or may be subject to manipulation; the adoption of ether as a medium of exchange, store-of-value or other consumptive asset and the maintenance and development of the open-source software protocol of the Ethereum network, and their ability to meet user demands; manipulative trading activity on crypto asset exchanges, which, in many cases, are largely unregulated; and forks in the Ethereum network, among other things.

Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC serves as the Trust’s custodian for ether for which qualified custody is available (the “Ether Custodian”). The Ether Custodian is subject to change in the sole discretion of the Sponsor. At March 31, 2025, ether with a market value of $173,794,481 was held by the Ether Custodian based on the price of ether (Lukka Prime Rate) in the principal market (Crypto.com) of $1,827.33. No comparative period presented as the Trust commenced operations on July 22, 2024.

 

7. Financial Highlights*

Per-Share Performance (for a Share outstanding throughout the period presented)

 

 

 

Three months ended March 31, 2025

 

 

Principal Market NAV per-share, beginning of period

 

$

23.96

 

 

Net investment loss 1

 

 

(0.01

)

 

Net realized and change in unrealized on investment in ether 2

 

 

(10.85

)

 

Net change in net assets from operations

 

 

(10.86

)

 

Principal Market NAV per-share, end of period

 

$

13.10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total return, at net asset value 2

 

 

(45.33

)

%

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios to average net assets 3

 

 

 

 

Net investment loss

 

 

(0.14

)

%

Gross expenses

 

 

0.20

 

%

Net expenses

 

 

0.14

 

%

 

* No comparative financial highlights have been presented as the Trust's operations commenced on July 22, 2024.

1.
Calculated using average Shares outstanding.
2.
Total return is calculated based on the change in Principal Market NAV during the reporting period. An individual shareholder’s total return and ratios may vary from the above total return and ratios based on the timing of share transactions from the Trust. Total return for the period is not annualized.
3.
Annualized.

 

11


 

8. Segment Reporting

In 2024, the Trust adopted FASB Accounting Standards Update 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) - Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”). Adoption of the new standard impacted financial statement disclosures only and did not affect the Trust’s financial position or the results of its operations. An operating segment is defined in Topic 280 as a component of a public entity that engages in business activities from which it may recognize revenues and incur expenses, has operating results that are regularly reviewed by the public entity’s Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and has discrete financial information available. Selective members of the Executive Management Committee and other senior personnel of the Sponsor act as the Trust’s CODM. The Trust represents a single operating segment, as the CODM monitors the operating results of the Trust as a whole and the Trust’s long-term strategic asset allocation is pre-determined in accordance with the terms of its Trust agreement, based on a defined investment strategy which is executed by the Sponsor. The financial information in the form of the Trust’s assets, total returns, expense ratios and changes in net assets (i.e., changes in net assets resulting from operations, creations and redemptions), which are used by the CODM to assess the segment’s performance versus the Trust’s comparative benchmarks and to make resource allocation decisions for the Trust’s single segment, is consistent with that presented within the Trust’s financial statements. Segment assets are reflected on the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities as “total assets” and significant segment expenses are listed on the accompanying statement of operations.

 

9. Indemnifications

In the normal course of business, the Trust enters into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties and which provide general indemnifications. The Trust’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Trust that have not yet occurred. The Trust expects the risk of any future obligation under these indemnifications to be remote.

10. Subsequent Events

In preparing these financial statements, the Sponsor has evaluated events and transactions for potential recognition or disclosure through the date these financial statements were issued. Management has determined that there were no additional material events that would require disclosure other than that which has already been discussed in these Notes to Financial Statements.

12


 

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of the Trust's financial condition and results of operations should be read together with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the Trust's unaudited financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). The following discussion may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions the Trust believes to be reasonable. The Trust's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. See “Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” above.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by the Federal securities laws, the Trust and the Sponsor undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or the risks, uncertainties or other factors described in this Quarterly Report, as a result of new information, future events or changed circumstances or for any other reason after the date of this Quarterly Report.

Trust Overview

Bitwise Ethereum ETF (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust formed on February 16, 2024. The Trust continuously issues common shares (“Shares”), representing units of undivided beneficial ownership of the Trust. The Shares are listed on the NYSE Arca Inc. (the “Exchange”) under the ticker symbol “ETHW.” The Trust’s commencement of operations was July 22, 2024. The Trust is sponsored and managed by Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC (the “Sponsor”).

The Trust’s investment objective is to seek to provide shareholders of the Trust (“Shareholders”) with exposure to the value of ether held by the Trust that is reflective of the actual ether market in which investors can purchase or sell ether, less the expenses of the Trust’s operations and other liabilities. In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Trust holds ether and establishes its net asset value (“NAV") by reference to the CME CF Ether – Dollar Reference Rate – New York Variant (“Pricing Index”). The Pricing Index was designed to provide a daily, 4:00 p.m. ET reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of one ether that may be used to develop financial products and is calculated by CF Benchmarks Ltd. (the “Benchmark Provider”) based on an aggregation of executed trade flow of major ether trading platforms (“Constituent Platforms”).

The Shares may trade at a premium over, or a discount to, the NAV per-share as a result of price volatility, trading volume and closings of the exchanges on which the Sponsor purchases ether on behalf of the Trust due to fraud, failure, security breaches or otherwise, and the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares are related, but not identical, to the supply and demand forces influencing the market price of ether. As a result of the foregoing, the price of the Shares as quoted on the Exchange has varied from the value of the Trust’s NAV per-share since the Shares were approved for quotation on July 23, 2024.

The following charts show the percentage of Premium/(Discount) of the Shares as quoted on the Exchange and the Trust’s NAV and a comparison of the NAV of the Trust vs. the market price as quoted on the Exchange for the period from July 2024 to March 2025.

13


 

img247323409_0.jpg

img247323409_1.jpg

From July 23, 2024 to March 31, 2025, the Shares of the Trust traded at an average discount, based on closing prices at 4:00 p.m. ET, and an estimated, unaudited, NAV per-share of 0.001%. During that same period, the highest premium was 1.65% on January 13, 2025, and the lowest premium was 0.001% on August 19, 2024. During that same period, the highest discount was 1.34% on March 4, 2025, and the lowest discount was 0.01% on February 18, 2025.

The following chart shows the price of ether for the period January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025, as quoted by the Benchmark Provider, using the Pricing Index.

14


 

img247323409_2.jpg

 

Results of Operations

 

As of March 31, 2025*, the Trust held a net closing balance of 95,108.4265 ether with a total market value of $174,674,234 based on the Pricing Index price of $1,836.58, used to determine the Trust's NAV. The total market value of the Trust's ether held was $173,794,481 based on the price of an ether (Lukka Prime Rate) in the principal market (Crypto.com) of $1,827.33, used to determine the Trust's Principal Market NAV.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025*^

Net realized and unrealized loss on investment in ether for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was approximately $149,835, which includes a net realized gain of $2 on the sale of ether to pay the Sponsor Fee, net realized loss on investment in ether sold for redemptions of $13,641 and net change in unrealized depreciation on investment in ether of approximately $136,196. Net realized and unrealized loss on investment in ether for the period was driven by ether price depreciation from $3,340.40 per ether as of December 31, 2024 to $1,827.33 per ether as of March 31, 2025. Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations was approximately $149,928 for the three months ended March 31, 2025, which primarily consisted of the net realized and unrealized loss on investment in ether of approximately 149,835, plus the Sponsor Fee of $93. Net assets decreased to approximately $173,762 at March 31, 2025 and the NAV per-share decreased approximately 45.33% for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The decrease in net assets primarily resulted from the aforementioned ether price depreciation, the net decrease in capital share transactions of approximately $80,839, and a net decrease resulting from operations of $149,928.

* No comparative period presented as the Trust commenced operations on July 22, 2024.

^ Amounts displayed are in the '000s, except for per-share/coin references

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Trust agreed to pay the unitary Sponsor Fee of 0.20% per annum of the Trust’s ether holdings. The Sponsor contractually waived the Sponsor Fee on the first $500 million of Trust assets through January 22, 2025, and has been accruing at an annual rate of 0.20% of the Trust’s net assets since then. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust is expected to be the Sponsor Fee. In exchange

15


 

for the Sponsor Fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume and pay the normal operating expenses of the Trust, which include the Trustee’s monthly fee and out-of-pocket expenses, the fees of the Trust’s regular service providers (Cash Custodian, Ether Custodian, Prime Execution Agent, Marketing Agent, Transfer Agent and Administrator), exchange listing fees, tax reporting fees, SEC registration fees, printing and mailing costs, audit fees and up to $500,000 per annum in ordinary legal fees and expenses. The Sponsor may determine in its sole discretion to assume legal fees and expenses of the Trust in excess of $500,000 per annum. The Sponsor also agreed to pay the costs of the Trust’s organization.

The Trust may incur certain extraordinary, non-recurring expenses that are not assumed by the Sponsor, including but not limited to, taxes and governmental charges, any applicable brokerage commissions, financing fees, Ethereum network fees and similar transaction fees, expenses and costs of any extraordinary services performed by the Sponsor (or any other service provider) on behalf of the Trust to protect the Trust or the Shareholders (including, for example, in connection with any fork of the Ethereum blockchain, any Incidental Rights and any IR Asset), any indemnification of the Cash Custodian, Ether Custodian, Prime Execution Agent, Transfer Agent, Administrator or other agents, service providers or counterparties of the Trust, and extraordinary legal fees and expenses, including any legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with litigation, regulatory enforcement or investigation matters.

The Trust does not hold a cash balance except in connection with the creation and redemption of Baskets (blocks of 10,000 Shares) or to pay expenses not assumed by the Sponsor. To pay for expenses not assumed by the Sponsor that are denominated in U.S. dollars, the Sponsor, on behalf of the Trust, may sell the Trust’s ether as necessary to pay such expenses. The cash proceeds of the sale are sent to the Sponsor to pay the expenses. Any remaining cash is distributed back to the Cash Custodian. The Sponsor expects that the Trust will have an immaterial amount of cash flow from its operations and that its cash balance will be insignificant at the end of each reporting period. The Trust’s only sources of cash are proceeds from the sale of Baskets and ether. The Trust will not borrow to meet liquidity needs.

The Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, conditions or events that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to its liquidity needs. While broader economic and market conditions, including evolving trade policies and tariffs, could impact the price of ether and contribute to increased market volatility, the Trust does not currently anticipate these factors will materially affect its liquidity needs.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations

As of March 31, 2025, the Trust has not used, nor does it expect to use in the future, special purpose entities to facilitate off-balance sheet financing arrangements and have no loan guarantee arrangements or off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other than agreements entered into in the normal course of business, which may include indemnification provisions related to certain risks service providers undertake in performing services which are in the best interests of the Trust. While the Trust’s exposure under such indemnification provisions cannot be estimated, these general business indemnifications are not expected to have a material impact on the Trust’s financial position.

Sponsor Fee payments made to the Sponsor are calculated as a fixed percentage of the Trust’s NAV. As such, the Sponsor cannot anticipate the payment amounts that will be required under these arrangements for future periods as NAVs are not known until a future date.

No material changes have occurred during the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Critical Accounting Policies

Principal Market and Fair Value Determination

The Trust’s periodic financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC Topic 820”) and utilize an exchange-traded price from the Trust’s principal market for ether on the Trust’s financial statement measurement date. The Sponsor determines in its sole discretion the valuation sources and policies used to prepare the Trust’s financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Trust has engaged a third-party vendor to obtain a price from a principal market for ether, which will be either the market the Trust normally transacts in for ether or, if the Trust does not normally transact in any market or such market suffers an operational interruption and is unavailable, determined and designated by such third-party vendor daily based on its consideration of several exchange characteristics, including oversight, and the volume and frequency of trades. Under U.S. GAAP, such a price is expected to

16


 

be deemed a Level 1 input in accordance with the ASC Topic 820 because it is expected to be a quoted price in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Investment Company Considerations

The Trust is an investment company for U.S. GAAP purposes and follows accounting and reporting guidance in accordance with the FASB ASC Topic 946, Financial Services – Investment Companies. The Trust uses fair value as its method of accounting for ether in accordance with its classification as an investment company for accounting purposes. The Trust is not a registered investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates and these differences could be material.

 

Please refer to Note 2 to the financial statements included in this Quarterly Report for further discussion of the Trust’s accounting policies.

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

As a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Trust is not required to provide the information required by this item.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures.

Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Trust maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those a principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Under the supervision and with the participation of the Principal Executive Officer and the Principal Financial and Accounting Officer of the Sponsor, the Sponsor evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Trust's disclosure controls and procedures, as defined under Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e). Based on this evaluation, the Principal Executive Officer and the Principal Financial and Accounting Officer of the Sponsor concluded that, as of March 31, 2025, the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective in causing material information relating to the Trust to be recorded, processed, summarized and reported by management of the Sponsor on a timely basis and to ensure the quality and timeliness of the Trust’s public disclosures with the SEC.

There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II – OTHER INFORMATION:

None.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

There have been no material changes to the risk factors described in the Trust's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 17, 2025.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

a)
None.
b)
Not applicable.
c)
The Trust does not purchase Shares directly from its Shareholders. In connection with its redemption of Baskets held by Authorized Participants, the Trust redeemed 472 Baskets (comprising 4,720,000 Shares) during the three-month period ended March 31, 2025. The following table summarizes the redemptions by Authorized Participants during the period:

 

Period

 

Total Shares Redeemed

 

 

Average Price Per Share

 

January 1, 2025 – January 31, 2025

 

 

2,990,000

 

 

$

24.34

 

February 1, 2025 – February 28, 2025

 

 

1,610,000

 

 

$

18.40

 

March 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025

 

 

120,000

 

 

$

13.31

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

No executive officers or directors of the Sponsor have adopted, modified, or terminated trading plans under either a "Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or a “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement" (as such terms defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act) for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025.

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Item 6. Exhibits.

Listed below are the exhibits, which are filed as part of this quarterly report on Form 10‑Q (according to the number assigned to them in Item 601 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act):

 

Exhibit Number

 

Description of Document

3.1

 

First Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (File No. 333-278308) filed by the Registrant on May 31, 2024.

3.2

 

Certificate of Trust incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (File No. 333-278308) filed by the Registrant on March 28, 2024.

31.1

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

31.2

 

Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

32.1*

 

Certification by Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

32.2*

 

Certification by Principal Financial and Accounting Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

101.INS

 

Inline XBRL Instance Document. The instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

101.SCH

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

104

 

Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)

 

 

* These exhibits are furnished with this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and are not deemed filed with the SEC and are not incorporated by reference in any filing of Bitwise Ethereum ETF under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, whether made before or after the date hereof, and irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filings.

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GLOSSARY OF DEFINED TERMS

The following terms may be used throughout this Quarterly Report, including the consolidated financial statements and related notes.

1933 Act: The Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Administrator: BNY Mellon.

Agent Execution Model: The model whereby the Prime Execution Agent, acting in an agency capacity, conducts ether purchases and sales on behalf of the Trust with third parties through its Coinbase Prime service pursuant to the Prime Execution Agreement.

Authorized Participant: One that purchases or redeems Baskets from or to the Trust.

Basket: A block of 10,000 Shares used by the Trust to issue or redeem Shares.

Basket Amount: The quantity of ether attributable to each Share of the Trust (net of accrued but unpaid expenses and liabilities) multiplied by the number of Shares comprising a Basket (10,000)

Benchmark Provider: CF Benchmarks Ltd.

ether (lowercase): The native unit of account and medium of exchange on the Ethereum network.

Ethereum (uppercase): The software protocol and peer-to-peer network used for the creation, transfer and possession of ether, as recorded on the Ethereum blockchain.

Ether Custodian: Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC, a New York State limited liability trust company.

Ether Custody Agreement: The custody agreement between the Ether Custodian and the Trust pursuant to which the Trust Ether Agreement is established.

Ether Trading Counterparty: The ether trading counterparties that have been approved by the Sponsor.

BNY Mellon: The Bank of New York Mellon, a national association bank in New York that serves as the Administrator and Transfer Agent.

ERR: CME CF Ether Reference Rate.

Business Day: Any day other than a day when the Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange is closed for regular trading.

Cash Custodian: BNY Mellon.

CME: The Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

CME Ether Real Time Price: The CME CF Ether Real Time Index, a pricing index continuously published by the CME Group at one-second intervals that calculates the U.S. dollar price of one ether on constituent crypto asset trading platforms.

Code: Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Constituent Platform: The major ether trading platforms that serve as the pricing sources for the calculation of the CME CF Ether Reference Rate – New York Variant and CME CF Ether Real Time Index.

Cryptocurrency: A token such as ether that is the native asset of a crypto asset network.

Crypto asset: A token, such as a cryptocurrency, that is the native asset of or issued on a digital asset network and secured using public and private key cryptography or similar cryptographic credentials.

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DTC: The Depository Trust Company, the securities depository for the Shares.

DTC Participant: An entity that has an account with DTC.

DSTA: Delaware Statutory Trust Act.

ERISA: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

EST: Eastern Standard Time.

Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

Exchange Act: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

FDIC: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

FinCEN: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury with the mandate to regulate financial institutions such as money services businesses in the U.S.

FINRA: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Forked Asset: The crypto asset resulting from a “hard fork” that is not ether, as determined by the Sponsor in its discretion as set forth in the Trust Agreement. The holder of ether at the time of a Network Fork may use its Ethereum network private key to access the Forked Asset on the new network, typically through the use of the modified version of the Ethereum network software that created the Network Fork (or the legacy version of the Ethereum network software if the new version is determined to be Ethereum).

GAAP: The generally accepted accounting principles of the United States.

Incidental Right: A right to receive a benefit of a fork or airdrop.

Indemnified Person: The Trustee or any officer, affiliate, director, employee, or agent of the Trustee, for the purposes of indemnification provisions of the Trust Agreement.

Indirect Participants: Banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly.

Insignificant Participation Exception: An exception to the designation of certain assets under the Plan Asset Rules, where the investment by all benefit plan investors relating to such assets is not significant or other exceptions apply.

Investment Company Act: Investment Company Act of 1940.

IRA: An individual retirement account that is a tax-qualified retirement plan under the Code.

IR Asset: Any crypto asset acquired through an Incidental Right.

IRS: U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

ITV: Indicative Trust Value.

JOBS Act: The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act.

Losses: The losses, claims, taxes, damages, reasonable expenses, and liabilities (including liabilities under State or federal securities laws) of any kind and nature whatsoever of an Indemnified Person or Sponsor Indemnified Party, as applicable, that are eligible for indemnification pursuant to the Trust Agreement.

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Marketing Agent: Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

NAV: Net asset value of the Trust, which is a Non-GAAP metric and is determined each business day by valuing the Trust’s ether using the Pricing Index, less the Trust’s accrued but unpaid expenses.

Network Fork: A proposed change to the open-source software and protocols of the Ethereum network that results in the creation of two versions of the Ethereum network – the version running the unmodified software and the version running the modified version. To the extent that a Network Fork creates Ethereum networks or Ethereum blockchains that are not interoperable, the Network Fork is referred to as a “hard fork” and results in separate Ethereum networks with independent ether assets and Ethereum blockchains that diverge from the point of adoption of the Network Fork.

Plan: An “employee benefit plan” as defined in, and subject to the fiduciary responsibility provisions of, ERISA or of a “plan” as defined in and subject to Section 4975 of the Code.

Plan Asset Rules: Rules promulgated pursuant to ERISA for determining when an investment by a Plan in an entity will result in the underlying assets of such entity being assets of the Plan for purposes of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code.

Plan Fiduciaries: Fiduciaries with investment discretion over a Plan.

Prime Execution Agent: Coinbase Inc., an affiliate of the Ether Custodian.

Prime Execution Agreement: The agreement between Coinbase Inc. and the Trust that sets forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which Coinbase Inc., and its affiliates, agree to open and maintain a prime broker account and provide services relating to trade execution.

Pricing Index: CME CF Ether Reference - Dollar Reference Rate - New York Variant, a standardized reference rate published by the CME Group that calculates the U.S. dollar price of one ether as of 4:00 p.m. New York time on each calendar day on constituent crypto asset trading platforms to reflect the performance of ether in U.S. dollars.

Principal Market NAV: The net asset value of the Trust determined on a GAAP basis.

Publicly-Offered Security Exception: An exception to the designation of certain assets under the Plan Asset Rules, where such assets are publicly offered securities.

Purchase Order: An order to purchase one or more Baskets.

Purchase Order Cut-Off Time: The time at which Purchase Orders must be placed on a Business Day for that Business Day to constitute the Purchase Order Date.

Purchase Order Date: The Business Day on which a Purchase Order is accepted by the Transfer Agent.

Redemption Order: An order to redeem one or more Baskets.

Redemption Order Cut-Off Time: The time at which Redemption Orders must be placed on a Business Day for that Business Day to constitute the Redemption Order Date.

Redemption Order Date: The Business Day on which a Redemption Order is accepted by the Transfer Agent.

Register: The record of all Shareholders and holders of the Shares in certificated form kept by the Transfer Agent.

SEC: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, an independent agency with the mandate to regulate securities offerings and markets in the U.S.

Seed Shares: The eight (8) Shares used to seed the Trust.

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Seed Capital Investor: Bitwise Asset Management, Inc.

Shares: Common shares representing units of undivided beneficial ownership of the Trust.

Shareholders: Holders of Shares.

Sponsor: Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which controls the investments and other decisions of the Trust.

Sponsor Agreement: The agreement between the Sponsor and the Trust.

Sponsor Ether Account: The custody account in the name of the Sponsor held with the Ether Custodian, in which the Sponsor receives payment in ether of its management fee from the Trust Ether Account.

Sponsor Fee: The unitary management fee of 0.20% per annum of the Trust’s ether holdings the Trust agreed to pay to the Sponsor.

Sponsor Indemnified Party: The Sponsor and its shareholders, members, directors, officers, employees, Affiliates and subsidiaries, for the purposes of indemnification under the Trust Agreement.

Trade Credit: The Trust may borrow ether or cash as a credit on a short-term basis from the Trade Credit Lender pursuant to the Trade Financing Agreement.

Trade Credit Lender: Coinbase Credit, Inc.

Trade Financing Agreement: The Coinbase Credit Committed Trade Financing Agreement.

Transfer Agent: BNY Mellon.

Trust: The Bitwise Ethereum ETF.

Trust Agreement: The Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement of Bitwise Ethereum ETF, entered into by the Sponsor and the Trustee.

Trust Ether Account: The custody account in the name of the Trust held with the Ether Custodian, in which Trust Ether Account the Trust’s ether assets are held.

Trust-Directed Trade Model: The model whereby the Sponsor purchases and sells ether through the use of an Ether Trading Counterparty.

Trustee: Delaware Trust Company, a Delaware trust company.

U.S.: The United States of America.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Quarterly Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned in the capacities* indicated thereunto duly authorized.

 

Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC,

as Sponsor of Bitwise Ethereum ETF

 

 

By:

/s/ Hunter Horsley

 

Hunter Horsley

 

Director and President

 

(Principal Executive Officer)*

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Paul Fusaro

 

Paul Fusaro

 

Chief Operating Officer

 

(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)*

 

Date: May 12, 2025

* The registrant is a trust and the persons are signing in their capacities as officers or directors of Bitwise Investment Advisers, LLC, the sponsor of the registrant.

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