Bitwise acquires Ethereum staking provider Attestant with $3.7b in AUM

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has acquired an Ethereum staking service to expand its portfolio offerings beyond its core business.

Cryptocurrency index fund manager Bitwise has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Attestant, a non-custodial Ethereum (ETH) staking service, Bloomberg has learned.

While the financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, the London-based staking firm handles about $3.7 billion in assets for institutional investors, the report reads. The 11-member Attestant team will join Bitwise following the acquisition, sources close to the matter told Bloomberg. With this addition, Bitwise will manage over $10 billion in client assets.

Bitwise chief executive Hunter Horsley told Bloomberg the deal reflects a “new chapter of the maturation of this space,” adding that the new chapter will be “most useful for clients they want you to be at a certain scale and to offer broad capabilities.”

Currently, one in five Bitwise clients seek to stake their coins for yield, but most are expected to do so within a few years, according to Horsley. Staked Ethereum earns an annual return of 3.43%, with nearly a third of all ETH in circulation, valued at $112 billion, now staked, per Staking Rewards data.

Meanwhile, Ethereum, however, faces resistance at $3,438, trading at $3,126 as of press time and down 35% from its record high of $4,891 reached in November 2021.