Bitwise launches first Aptos staking ETP

Asset manager Bitwise has launched the first exchange-traded product (ETP) holding staked APT, the Aptos network’s native token, according to a Nov. 12 announcement.

The Bitwise Aptos Staking ETP (APTB) will list on SIX Swiss Exchange on Nov. 19, Bitwise said. It will be available to institutional and retail investors in Europe.

The ETP “is physically backed, and will stake the underlying Aptos to generate returns of approximately 4.7% net of fees, which will be accumulated directly within the ETP,” Bitwise said.

APTB is Bitwise’s second addition to its European Total Return product suite, which also includes an Ethereum (ETH) staking ETP.

Bitwise lists exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin (BTC) and ETH in the United States.

Related: These crypto ETFs are ‘call options’ on the US elections

Aptos is a high-performance layer 1 blockchain network launched in 2022 and designed to support enterprise-scale decentralized applications (Dapps).

The network has already onboarded 8 million monthly active users, according to Bitwise. It hosts more than 250 projects and has settled some 1.7 billion transactions.

Aptos is “used by [Microsoft], Amazon, Mastercard, Coinbase, and more,” Bitwise said in a post on the X platform.

APT has a market capitalization of approximately $6.5 billion, upwards of 80% of which is staked. Aptos pays stakers some 7% as of Nov. 12, according to data from Coinbase.

Trump’s presidential win is a greenlight for more than half a dozen proposed crypto ETFs waiting on regulatory approval to list in the United States.

They include ETFs holding altcoins, including Solana SOL, XRP XRP, and Litecoin LTC, among others.

Staking is prohibited in US ETFs but this may change after Donald Trump’s presidential win on Nov. 5.

Trump is expected to loosen restrictions on cryptocurrency products,  Cointelegraph Research said.

Issuers are also waiting on approval for several planned crypto index ETFs designed to hold diverse baskets of tokens.

Crypto exchange Coinbase has introduced a new benchmark index for tracking over 50 digital assets, potentially supporting more index ETF launches in the US.

Related: What is a crypto index fund, and how to invest in it?