Bitwise Disclosure Stirs Debate: First to Reveal BTC Exchange-Traded Fund Address
Summary:
Bitwise, an asset management firm, disclosed the Bitcoin address for its BTC spot exchange-traded fund on January 24, becoming the first among ten such issuers to do so. This caused a surge of donations and tips, amassing $6,083 and over 16,000 inscriptions. This decision fostered a debate within the crypto sphere with some applauding Bitwise for its transparency, while others criticized it for not using a test transaction and for employing a single-key wallet rather than a more secure multisig system.
On January 24, Bitwise, a renowned asset management corporation, took a bold step by disclosing the Bitcoin address of its BTC spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). This action marked this company as the first among ten such BTC ETF issuers to publicize their Bitcoin wallet address. Subsequent to this revelation, several donations and tips started flowing into the wallet, including a spate of rare sats and Bitcoin ordinals. As it stands, the wallet boasts of donations amounting to $6,083 and more than 16,000 inscriptions, including an array of airdrops like two RSICs, a Bitcoin Punk, a Bitcoin Burials, a Quadkey, and various others. Moreover, the account comprises thousands of BRC-20 inscriptions, despite having no valid/active BRC-20 balances.
Ordinals, incidentally, are recent entrants into the cryptocurrency realm, yet have drawn significant attention. They generate nonfungible tokens (NFTs) originating from Bitcoin by inscribing data inclusive of images and videos onto a specific satoshi entrenched in the core Bitcoin blockchain. A solitary satoshi is the smallest feasible Bitcoin unit, encapsulating one-hundred-millionth of a whole Bitcoin.
The rising prominence of ordinals and inscriptions has led to diverging opinions within the crypto world, with a faction advocating that they enhance the fungibility and adaptability of the Bitcoin network. On the other hand, skeptics argue these inscriptions commonly usurp extra block space, thereby causing network congestion.
While the disclosure of ETF holdings was mostly applauded by the crypto community, some expressed concern over the single transfer of 12,000 BTC, suggesting Bitwise did not validate the address with a test transaction. Critics also called into question Bitwise's choice of a single-key wallet over a more secure multi-signature alternative, where multiple private keys must concurrently be deployed, in a manner akin to a bank's vault, for enhanced protection of digital assets.
Cointelegraph reached out to Bitwise for comment regarding their stance on ordinals and their preference for single-key wallets over multisignature versions, but received no reply up to the time of publishing.
Published At
1/25/2024 12:11:04 PM
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