Bitwise is liquidating six crypto option ETFs after the funds posted steep losses and failed to generate meaningful income. The Bitwise Funds Trust board voted on June 30 to close the funds, with the final trading day on July 31, 2025. Shareholders who haven't sold by Aug. 3 will face automatic cash redemption at net asset value.
Six funds, one outcome
The affected ETFs — ICOI, IMRA, IMST, IGME, ICRC, and IETH — used option-income strategies tied to Coinbase, Marathon Digital, Strategy, GameStop, Circle, and Ethereum. The idea was to generate steady payouts from premiums. It didn't work. Pre-liquidation assets under management totaled about $23.1 million as of late July, a fraction of what the funds once held.
From 25% yield to 0% SEC yield
Annualized distribution rates in April ranged from 11.15% on IETH to 25.93% on IMST. But the 30-day SEC yield was 0% for all six funds. By June 25, Bitwise estimated that every payout from ICOI, IMRA, IMST, ICRC, and IETH was 100% return of capital. IGME was at 0% return of capital. That means investors were getting their own money back, not income. Cumulative NAV returns since inception as of June 30 ranged from -12.47% for IGME to -66.11% for IMST. Since-inception returns as of June 25 were even worse for some: IETH lost 58.34%.
The final timeline
Shareholders who didn't sell by July 31 will have their shares automatically redeemed at NAV after Aug. 3. The final NAV calculation is scheduled for Aug. 7, with proceeds expected around Aug. 10. The board didn't disclose a reason for the liquidation, but the numbers speak for themselves. The funds simply didn't deliver.
