Bitwise's Public Bitcoin ETF Wallet Attracts Donations and Ordinal Inscriptions

Bitwise, an asset management firm, recently made its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) wallet address public, becoming the first among the 10 spot Bitcoin ETF issuers to do so. Since its public release, the wallet address has received numerous donations, including some Bitcoin ordinals and rare satoshis.

The wallet currently holds inscription donations worth $6,083 and contains over 16,000 inscriptions. These inscriptions encompass various items such as two RSIC airdrops, one Bitcoin Punk, one Bitcoin Burials, one Quadkey, and numerous BRC-20 inscriptions. However, the account does not have any valid or active BRC-20 balances.

Ordinals are responsible for creating Bitcoin-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by inscribing data like images and videos onto individual satoshis within the Bitcoin blockchain. These inscriptions became notable in the crypto community last year.

The popularity of Ordinals has generated debate within the community. Proponents argue that they enhance the fungibility and versatility of the Bitcoin network, while opponents believe that Ordinal inscriptions occupy unnecessary block space and congest the network.

While Bitwise's decision to make its ETF holdings address public was largely praised by the crypto community, some individuals raised concerns. They pointed out a single 12,000 BTC transfer and questioned why Bitwise didn't send a test transaction to verify the address. Additionally, there were inquiries about the company's use of a single-key wallet rather than a multisig wallet, which is considered more secure due to its requirement for multiple private keys to access.

Bitwise has yet to respond to inquiries regarding its plans for supporting Ordinals and its choice of a single-key wallet over a multisig alternative.

This move by Bitwise reflects the growing interest in cryptocurrency ETFs and the unique ways in which digital assets are being leveraged and utilized within the crypto space.