Bitwise files to list a spot Aptos ETF — the 36th largest cryptocurrency

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has filed to list a spot Aptos (APT) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. Aptos, a token created in 2022 by a team led by two former Facebook (now Meta) employees, is the focus of this new filing.

Bitwise submitted an S-1 registration statement on March 5th, eight days after announcing its intention to do so following the registration of a related trust in Delaware on February 28th.

This filing adds Aptos to the growing list of altcoins seeking regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Bitwise's proposed ETF will not include a staking feature, despite Aptos being a proof-of-stake blockchain. Coinbase Custody is named as the proposed custodian, but the target exchange remains unspecified. No fee or ticker symbol has been announced at this time. Bitwise must also file a 19b-4 form, and await SEC acknowledgment, before the 240-day SEC decision clock begins.

Source: Aptos

This move represents Bitwise's continued expansion beyond its existing spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs. The firm has also recently filed for spot ETFs focused on Solana (SOL), XRP, and Dogecoin (DOGE).

Unlike Bitwise's other US ETF filings, which target top market capitalization tokens, Aptos is a notable outlier, currently ranking 36th with a market capitalization of $3.8 billion (according to CoinGecko).

Aptos Labs, founded in 2021 by former Facebook employees Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, developed Aptos. Launched in October 2022, it was initially touted as a potential "Solana killer," offering high speed and low transaction costs. However, its current market cap is significantly smaller than Solana's, representing only a fraction of its size (CoinGecko data).

At the time of writing, APT is up 14.4% in the last 24 hours, trading at $6.25 (CoinGecko data).

Aptos boasts the 11th largest total value locked (TVL) among blockchains, with $1.03 billion according to DefiLlama. Over $830 million of this TVL consists of stablecoins. The Aptos blockchain also supports tokenized real-world assets, such as the Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX).

This isn't Bitwise's first foray into the Aptos ecosystem. In November, they launched an Aptos Staking ETP on Switzerland's SIX Swiss Exchange, offering a 4.7% staking yield.