Prospectus
Bitwise COIN Option Income Strategy ETF (ICOI)
Bitwise CRCL Option Income Strategy ETF (ICRC)
Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF (IETH)
Bitwise GME Option Income Strategy ETF (IGME)
Bitwise MARA Option Income Strategy ETF (IMRA)
Bitwise MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF (IMST)
May 1, 2026
Each of the funds set forth above (each, a “Fund,” and together, the “Funds”) is a series of Bitwise Funds Trust (the “Trust”) and an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”). Each Fund lists and principally trades its shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”).
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Table of Contents
The
Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income.
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
| $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the period April 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December
31, 2025, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
1
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide current income while providing exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of COIN, subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund seeks to achieve these investment objectives through the use of a synthetic covered call strategy. The Fund seeks to provide its synthetic exposure to the price return of COIN through the purchase and sale of a combination of call and put option contracts that utilize COIN as the reference asset. The Fund will also sell call options that utilize COIN as the reference asset to generate income in the form of option premiums, but will also limit the degree to which the Fund will participate in investment gains experienced by COIN.
In implementing its investment strategy, the Fund will invest in traditional exchange-traded options contracts and/or FLexible EXchange® options (“FLEX Options”) that utilize COIN as the reference asset. The Fund will only invest in options contracts that are listed for trading on regulated U.S. exchanges. Traditional exchange-traded options have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price and expiration date. Exchange-listed options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). FLEX Options are a type of exchange-listed options contract with uniquely customizable terms that allow investors to customize key terms like type, strike price and expiration date that are standardized in a typical options contract. FLEX Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. It is anticipated that the Fund will invest primarily in FLEX Options. The FLEX Options held by the Fund may be either physical or cash settled.
In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying (in this case, COIN) the option at a specified exercise price. The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price (call) or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency (put). The Fund may utilize both European and American style options. An option is said to be “European Style” when it can be exercised only at expiration whereas an “American Style” option can be exercised at any time prior to expiration.
In a traditional covered call strategy, an investor (such as the Fund) sells a call option on a security it already owns. However, the Fund will derive its exposure to COIN through the use of options contracts that use COIN as the reference asset. It is this distinction that causes the Fund’s strategy to be properly termed as a “synthetic covered call strategy,” as opposed to a traditional covered call strategy, because the Fund primarily has synthetic exposure to COIN. The Fund’s synthetic exposure to COIN is achieved through the combination of purchasing call options and selling put options generally at the same strike price, which synthetically creates the upside and downside participation in the price returns of COIN. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to increases in value experienced by COIN through the purchase of call options. As a buyer of these options, the Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by COIN through the sale of put options. As the seller of these options, the Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of COIN both on the upside and downside. The Fund intends to continuously maintain exposure to COIN through the use of options. When such options expire or are exercised, the Fund will enter into new options. This is a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in higher levels of portfolio turnover.
2
As the primary means by which the Fund intends to generate income, the Fund will sell call options that reference COIN at a strike price that is expected to be approximately between 0% and 15% above the then-current share price of COIN. It is important to note that the sale of these call options to generate income will limit the Fund’s ability to participate in increases in value of COIN’s share price beyond a certain point. If the share price of COIN increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if COIN’s share price appreciates in value beyond the strike price of one or more of the call option contracts that the Fund has sold to generate income, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to COIN and the sold COIN call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains of COIN’s share price beyond a certain point. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the potential upside price return growth of COIN into current income. Such income may be less than the upside return of COIN. It is expected that the call options the Fund will sell to generate options premiums will generally have expirations of approximately one year or less and will be held to or close to expiration.
In addition to the options contracts, the Fund will also invest in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, which will serve to collateralize the Fund’s options positions and provide additional income. The market value of the cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options package is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to COIN equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
It is critical that investors understand the following:
| 1. | An investment in the Fund is not an investment in COIN. |
| 2. | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if shares of COIN decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| 3. | The Fund does not invest directly in shares of COIN. |
| 4. | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any COIN dividends. |
3
Additional Information About COIN
Coinbase Global, Inc. provides a platform for customers to engage with digital assets, including trading, staking, safekeeping, spending and transferring. It also provides critical infrastructure for on-chain activities. COIN has substantial holdings of bitcoin and other digital assets. Such holdings are not only highly volatile, but highly speculative. A digital asset is a digital representation of value or rights that utilizes cryptographic technology and is typically issued and transferred via a public, permissionless blockchain, ensuring decentralized and transparent transactions without the need for intermediaries. These assets can be created through various mechanisms, including mining, staking, or smart contracts, which automate and enforce agreements on the blockchain. Digital assets serve multiple use cases, such as digital currencies (e.g., bitcoin), decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and enterprise applications, enabling secure and efficient peer-to-peer transactions, programmable financial services, and digital ownership verification. COIN is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Coinbase Global, Inc. pursuant to the Exchange Act, including financial reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding Coinbase Global, Inc. can be located by reference to the Securities and Exchange Commission file number 001-40289 through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding Coinbase Global, Inc. may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding Coinbase Global, Inc. from the publicly available documents described above. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any affiliate has participated in the preparation of such documents. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any affiliate makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding Coinbase Global, Inc. is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date of the prospectus (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of COIN have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of, or failure to disclose, material future events concerning Coinbase Global, Inc. could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to COIN and therefore the value of the Fund. Lastly, neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any of their respective affiliates, make any representations to investors as to the performance of COIN.
Principal Risks
As
with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund.
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates, disruptions to trade, impositions of tariffs and perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of Fund Shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, Fund Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on Fund Shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
4
Covered Call Strategy Risk. A covered call strategy involves writing (selling) covered call options in return for the receipt of premiums. The seller of the option gives up the opportunity to benefit from price increases in the underlying instrument above the exercise price of the options but continues to bear the risk of underlying instrument price declines. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from underlying instrument price declines over time. As a result, the risks associated with writing covered call options may be similar to the risks associated with writing put options. Exchanges may suspend the trading of options during periods of abnormal market volatility. Suspension of trading may mean that an option seller is unable to sell options at a time that may be desirable or advantageous to do so.
The covered call strategy utilized by the Fund is “synthetic” because the Fund’s exposure to the price return of COIN is derived through options exposure, rather than direct holdings of the shares of COIN. Because such exposure is synthetic, it is possible that the Fund’s participation in the price return of COIN may not be as precise as if the Fund were directly holding shares of COIN.
COIN Investing Risks. The Fund will have significant exposure to COIN through its investments in options contracts that utilize COIN as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of COIN, set forth below.
COIN-Issuer Specific Risks. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, COIN faces risks associated with companies in the financials sector, as well as those relating to the “digital asset industry ecosystem.” The technology relating to the digital asset industry ecosystem is new and developing and the risks associated with digital assets may not fully emerge until the technology is widely used. Technologies utilizing cryptography are used by companies to optimize their business practices, whether by using the technology within their business or operating business lines involved in the operation of the technology. Cryptography refers to a set of techniques designed to allow for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. Blockchain is a well-known example of a technology that relies on cryptography. A blockchain is comprised of unchangeable, digitally recorded data in packages called “blocks.” These digitally recorded blocks of data are stored in a linear “chain.” Each block in the chain contains data (e.g., a transaction), that is cryptographically connected to the previous block in the chain, ensuring all data in the overall “blockchain” has not been tampered with and remains unchanged. The cryptographic keys necessary to transact a digital asset may be subject to theft, loss, or destruction, which could adversely affect a company’s business or operations if it were dependent on such an asset. Competing platforms and technologies may be developed such that consumers or investors use an alternative to digital assets. There may be risks posed by the lack of regulation for digital assets and any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of crypto technologies. Recently, U.S. securities regulators have brought actions against companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem for violations of U.S. securities laws. To the extent such an action is brought against a company held by the Fund, the value of such a holding could decrease significantly. Because companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem may operate across many national boundaries and regulatory jurisdictions, it is possible that such companies may be subject to widespread and inconsistent regulation. Companies operating in the digital asset industry ecosystem that rely on third party products may be subject to technical defects or vulnerabilities beyond a company’s control. Because many digital assets do not have a standardized exchange, like a stock market, there is less liquidity for such assets and greater possibility of volatility, fraud or manipulation. In addition, these companies may engage in other lines of business unrelated to the crypto industry ecosystem, and these lines of business could adversely affect their operating results. Such companies may be engaged in activities traditionally comprising the information technology sector and financials sector. These companies also may not be able to develop crypto technology applications or may not be able to capitalize on those applications. Technologies may also never be fully implemented, which could adversely affect an investment in such companies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to cybersecurity risk. In addition, certain features of digital asset industry technologies, such as decentralization, open source protocol, and reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, may increase the risk of fraud or cyber-attack by potentially reducing the likelihood of a coordinated response. A significant disruption of internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of crypto technologies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to the risks posed by conflicting intellectual property claims, which may reduce confidence in the viability of a digital asset.
5
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Digital Asset Trading Platforms Risk. Digital asset platforms, such as COIN, are relatively new and, in some cases, unregulated. Many operate outside the United States. Furthermore, while many prominent digital asset platforms provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices and regulatory compliance, many digital asset platforms do not provide this information. Digital asset platforms may not be subject to, or may not comply with, regulation in a similar manner as other regulated trading platforms, such as national securities exchanges or designated contract markets. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in digital asset platforms, including prominent platforms that handle a significant volume of bitcoin trading.
Many digital asset platforms are unlicensed, may be unregulated, may be subject to regulation in a relevant jurisdiction but may or may not be in compliance therewith, may operate without extensive supervision by governmental authorities, and may not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management team, corporate practices, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. In particular, those located outside the United States may be subject to significantly less stringent regulatory and compliance requirements in their local jurisdictions and may take the position that they are not subject to laws and regulations that would apply to a national securities exchange or designated contract market in the United States, or may, as a practical matter, be beyond the ambit of U.S. regulators.
In addition, over the past several years, some digital asset platforms have been closed due to fraud and manipulative activity, business failure, or security breaches. In many of these instances, the customers of such digital asset platforms were not compensated or made whole for the partial or complete losses of their account balances in such digital asset platforms. While, generally speaking, smaller digital asset platforms are less likely to have the infrastructure and capitalization that make larger digital asset platforms more stable, larger digital asset platforms are more likely to be appealing targets for hackers and malware, and their shortcomings or ultimate failures are more likely to have contagion effects on the digital asset ecosystem and, therefore, may be more likely targets of regulatory enforcement action.
Negative perception, a lack of stability and standardized regulation in the digital asset markets and the closure or temporary shutdown of digital asset platforms due to fraud, business failure, security breaches or government-mandated regulation and associated losses by customers may reduce confidence in the Bitcoin network and result in greater volatility or decreases in the prices of bitcoin.
Indirect Investment Risk. Coinbase Global, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of COIN and make no representation as to the performance of COIN. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in COIN. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to COIN.
Financial Companies Risk. Companies in the financials sector are subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge, the amount of capital and liquid assets they must maintain and, potentially, their size. Governmental regulation may change frequently and may have significant adverse consequences for companies in the financials sector, including effects not intended by such regulation. Increased risk taking by financial companies may also result in greater overall risk in the U.S. and global financials sector. The impact of changes in capital requirements, or recent or future regulation in various countries, on any individual financial company or on the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted.
6
Certain risks may impact the value of investments in the financials sector more severely than those of investments outside this sector, including the risks associated with companies that operate with substantial financial leverage. Companies in the financials sector are exposed directly to the credit risk of their borrowers and counterparties, who may be leveraged to an unknown degree, including through swaps and other derivatives products. Financial services companies may have significant exposure to the same borrowers and counterparties, with the result that a borrower’s or counterparty’s inability to meet its obligations to one company may affect other companies with exposure to the same borrower or counterparty. This interconnectedness of risk may result in significant negative impacts to companies with direct exposure to the defaulting counterparty as well as adverse cascading effects in the markets and the financials sector generally. Companies in the financials sector may also be adversely affected by increases in interest rates and loan losses, decreases in the availability of money or asset valuations, credit rating downgrades, adverse public perception and adverse conditions in other related markets. Insurance companies, in particular, may be subject to severe price competition and/or rate regulation, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. The financials sector is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates. The financials sector is also a target for cyberattacks. Cybersecurity incidents and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent and have caused significant losses to companies in this sector, which may negatively impact the Fund. The extent to which the Fund may invest in a company that engages in securities-related activities or banking is limited by applicable law.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk. Large capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
Digital Assets Risk. COIN may have substantial holdings of bitcoin and other digital assets. Accordingly, it is subject to the risks associated with such holdings as set forth below.
Bitcoin Risk. Bitcoin remains a volatile and evolving asset subject to significant market fluctuations, uncertainty, and speculative investment interest. Although institutional participation, the development of regulated investment products, and broader market infrastructure have increased in recent years, the value of bitcoin continues to be influenced substantially by market sentiment, speculative demand, liquidity conditions and macroeconomic factors rather than traditional fundamental analysis. The further development and sustained acceptance of the Bitcoin network are dependent on a variety of complex factors, including technological developments, regulatory treatment, institutional participation, and broader public adoption. While regulatory oversight of bitcoin and digital asset markets has increased in certain jurisdictions, including the United States and Europe, the global regulatory environment remains fragmented and subject to change. Regulatory developments may include new legislation, enforcement actions against digital asset market participants, trading restrictions, taxation policies or changes in regulatory classification. Any such actions could materially affect the value, liquidity, or market structure of bitcoin. Bitcoin markets remain susceptible to fraud, market manipulation, theft, cybersecurity incidents and operational disruptions. Trading may occur on digital asset trading platforms that are not subject to the same regulatory oversight as traditional securities exchanges. Failures of market participants such as exchanges, custodians, lenders, or other intermediaries could negatively affect market confidence and liquidity. In addition, a significant concentration of bitcoin holdings among a relatively small number of holders may increase the risk that large transactions or coordinated trading activity could cause substantial price volatility. Technological risks remain inherent in bitcoin and the Bitcoin network. Although technological developments, including scaling technologies such as the Lightning Network, have sought to improve transaction efficiency and network usability, these technologies remain relatively new and may contain technical vulnerabilities, security risks, or operational limitations. Technical failures, software bugs, cyber attacks, or other disruptions could undermine confidence in the Bitcoin network and adversely affect the price of bitcoin. The potential for blockchain forks also continues to exist. Forks may occur when developers and network participants disagree regarding changes to the Bitcoin protocol. Such events could result in competing blockchain networks, market confusion, or dilution of value associated with bitcoin. Competition from alternative digital assets and blockchain networks remains significant. Other digital assets may offer technological features or use cases that differ from or improve upon those associated with bitcoin. Increased adoption of competing digital assets or payment systems could reduce demand for bitcoin and negatively affect its market value. Any of these risks, individually or collectively, could materially and adversely affect the acceptance and market value of bitcoin.
7
Custody Risk. Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in relation to digital assets. The bitcoin held by COIN will likely be an appealing target to hackers or malware distributors seeking to destroy, damage or steal COIN’s bitcoin. To the extent that COIN is unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats or otherwise adapt to technological changes in the digital asset industry, COIN’s bitcoin may be subject to theft, loss, destruction, or other attack. COIN has put security procedures in place to prevent such theft, loss, or destruction, including but not limited to, offline storage, or cold storage, multiple encrypted private key “shards,” and other measures. Nevertheless, the security procedures cannot guarantee the prevention of any loss due to a security breach, software defect or act of God that may be borne by COIN, and the security procedures may not protect against all errors, software flaws or other vulnerabilities in COIN’s technical infrastructure, which could result in theft, loss or damage of its assets. Assets not held in cold storage, such as assets held in a trading account, may be more vulnerable to security breach, hacking or loss than assets held in cold storage. Furthermore, assets held in a trading account are held on an omnibus rather than segregated basis, which creates greater risk of loss. The security procedures and operational infrastructure may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, error or malfeasance of a COIN employee, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to COIN accounts in which its bitcoin is held, the relevant private keys (and therefore bitcoin) or other data or property of COIN. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees of COIN to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to COIN’s infrastructure. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems change frequently or may be designed to remain dormant until a predetermined event and often are not recognized until launched against a target, COIN may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures.
Digital Asset Market and Volatility Risk. The prices of digital assets, to which COIN has significant exposure, have historically been highly volatile. The value of such assets has been, and may continue to be, substantially dependent on speculation, such that trading and investing in these assets generally may not be based on fundamental analysis. The value of the Fund’s investments in instruments that provide exposure to COIN – and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund – could decline significantly and without warning. If you are not prepared to accept significant and unexpected changes in the value of the Fund, you should not invest in the Fund.
Digital Asset Regulatory Risk. There is a lack of consensus regarding the regulation of digital assets, including bitcoin, and their markets. As a result of the growth in the size of the digital asset market, as well as recent events in the digital asset market, the U.S. Congress and a number of U.S. federal and state agencies (including FinCEN, SEC, OCC, CFTC, FINRA, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, state financial institution regulators, and others) have been examining the operations of digital asset networks, digital asset users and the digital asset markets. Many of these state and federal agencies have brought enforcement actions or issued consumer advisories regarding the risks posed by digital assets to investors. Ongoing and future regulatory actions with respect to digital assets generally or bitcoin in particular may alter, perhaps to a materially adverse extent, the nature of an investment in the shares of COIN or the ability of COIN to continue to operate.
8
Irrevocability of Transactions Risk. Digital asset transactions are typically not reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to the blockchain, an incorrect transfer or theft of bitcoin generally will not be reversible, and COIN may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, COIN’s bitcoin could be transferred from its account in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts. Such events have occurred in connection with digital assets in the past. For example, in September 2014, the Chinese digital asset platform Huobi announced that it had sent approximately 900 bitcoin and 8,000 Litecoin (worth approximately $400,000 at the prevailing market prices at the time) to the wrong customers. To the extent that COIN is unable to seek a corrective transaction with such third-party or is incapable of identifying the third-party which has received COIN’s bitcoin through error or theft, COIN will be unable to revert or otherwise recover incorrectly transferred bitcoin. COIN will also be unable to convert or recover its bitcoin transferred to uncontrolled accounts. To the extent that COIN is unable to seek redress for such error or theft, such loss could adversely affect the value of its shares.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.
Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including the options held by the Fund, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearinghouse, such as the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearinghouses, and only members of a clearinghouse (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearinghouse, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. With regard to its cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to, and receive payments from, a clearinghouse through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any option contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not associated with any of the clearing member’s individual customers by name. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for its options position may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearinghouse, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. The loss of a clearing member for the Fund to transact with could result in increased transaction costs and other operational issues that could impede the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
Concentration Risk. The Fund is susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in investments that provide exposure to COIN and the industry to which it is assigned. As of March 1, 2026, COIN is assigned to the “diversified financials” industry group of the financials sector. Please see “Financial Companies Risk” for a discussion regarding the risks of an investment in such companies.
9
Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. Global financial markets have experienced periods of elevated volatility driven by geopolitical conflict, changing monetary policy, regulatory developments and trade policy uncertainty, each of which may affect asset prices and market liquidity. Monetary policy remains uncertain and central banks may raise or lower interest rates depending on economic conditions, inflation trends, and financial stability considerations. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect financial markets, liquidity and the value of certain investments held by the Fund. U.S. regulators have proposed and adopted several changes to market and issuer regulations that may directly or indirectly affect the Fund and its investments. Any regulatory changes, including those relating to securities markets, derivatives markets, digital assets, market structure or disclosure requirements could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. The political and regulatory environment in the United States remains subject to change. Political developments, legislative activity, regulatory priorities and policy decisions may affect the regulatory landscape, financial markets and investor behavior. Changes in fiscal, tax, immigration, trade or other government policies may affect economic conditions and securities markets generally. Trade policy developments may also adversely affect financial markets and economic conditions. The United States has implemented and proposed tariffs and other trade restrictions affecting various trading partners, and foreign governments have implemented or may implement retaliatory trade measures. Trade policy uncertainty, including uncertainty regarding the scope, duration, and legal authority for tariffs or other trade restrictions, may disrupt global supply chains, reduce international trade, increase costs for businesses and consumers and contribute to market volatility. Geopolitical conflicts may also adversely affect global markets. Ongoing hostilities and military actions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other parties in the Middle East have heightened the risk of broader regional instability and have contributed to volatility in energy markets and global financial markets. Escalation of these or other regional conflicts could disrupt energy supplies, shipping routes, and global supply chains. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to contribute to geopolitical risk and may affect global markets, particularly commodities and energy markets. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as financial markets generally, may also be adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions or disputes. For example, tensions between the United States and China remain ongoing, including disputes relating to trade, technology, and national security. In addition, the Chinese government continues to assert territorial claims involving Taiwan. If geopolitical tensions involving China, Taiwan, or other regions escalate, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets, and individual securities may be adversely affected and the value of the Fund’s assets may decline. Technological developments may also significantly affect markets and the performance of the Fund. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure may transform industries, alter labor markets, and lead to new regulatory frameworks. In addition, cybersecurity incidents involving government entities, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, or other participants could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, and negatively impact financial markets or the Fund’s service providers. These events, and other unforeseen developments, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks due to breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks due to efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or the issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
10
Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) the risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
FLEX Options Risk. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience losses from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund’s FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund Shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of Fund Shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection could reduce the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. This risk is more prevalent with respect to fixed income securities held by the Fund.
11
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
Leverage Risk. While the Fund does not seek leveraged exposure to COIN, the Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of COIN by using the leverage inherent in options contracts. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Options trading involves a degree of leverage and, as a result, a relatively small price movement in futures instruments may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The market for options on COIN may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. Such large positions also may impact the price of options on COIN.
Non-Diversification
Risk.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error; processing and communication errors; errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties; failed or inadequate processes; and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund’s portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund’s ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options.
12
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may experience high levels of portfolio turnover. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Special Tax Risk. The Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” or “RIC.” If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the FLEX Options as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Fund intends to treat the issuer of the FLEX Options as the referenced asset, which may allow the Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the FLEX Options is not appropriately the referenced asset, the Fund may lose its own status as a RIC if tax positions reflected by such options are large enough.
Structural ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF. Accordingly, it is subject to certain risks associated with its unique structure.
Active Market Risk. Although Fund Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Fund Shares will develop or be maintained. Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value. Securities, including Fund Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs, such as the Fund, which invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
13
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently expects to effect a significant portion of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. Paying redemption proceeds in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may require the Fund to dispose of or sell portfolio securities or other assets at an inopportune time to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher or lower annual capital gains distributions than ETFs that redeem in-kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause Fund Shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
Costs of Buying and Selling Fund Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Fund Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Fund Shares may significantly reduce investment results, and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Premium/Discount Risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
14
Management
Investment Adviser: Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC (“BIM”)
Portfolio Managers: Jennifer Thornton, Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM, and Daniela Padilla, Portfolio Manager at BIM, are the individuals that are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each has served as portfolio manager since the Fund’s inception in April 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the Exchange, other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.icoietf.com
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
15
The
Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income.
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
| $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the period October 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December
31, 2025, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
16
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide current income while providing exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of CRCL, subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund seeks to achieve these investment objectives through the use of a synthetic covered call strategy. The Fund seeks to provide its synthetic exposure to the price return of CRCL through the purchase and sale of a combination of call and put option contracts that utilize CRCL as the reference asset. The Fund will also sell call options that utilize CRCL as the reference asset to generate income in the form of option premiums, but will also limit the degree to which the Fund will participate in investment gains experienced by CRCL.
In implementing its investment strategy, the Fund will invest in traditional exchange-traded options contracts and/or FLexible EXchange® options (“FLEX Options”) that utilize CRCL as the reference asset. The Fund will only invest in options contracts that are listed for trading on regulated U.S. exchanges. Traditional exchange-traded options have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price, and the expiration date. Exchange-listed options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). FLEX Options are a type of exchange-listed options contract with uniquely customizable terms that allow investors to customize key terms like type, strike price and expiration date that are standardized in a typical options contract. FLEX Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. It is anticipated that the Fund will invest primarily in FLEX Options. The FLEX Options held by the Fund may be either physical or cash-settled.
In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying (in this case, CRCL) the option at a specified exercise price. The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price (call) or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency (put). The Fund may utilize both European and American style options. An option is said to be “European Style” when it can be exercised only at expiration whereas an “American Style” option can be exercised at any time prior to expiration.
In a traditional covered call strategy, an investor (such as the Fund) sells a call option on a security it already owns. However, the Fund will derive its exposure to CRCL through the use of options contracts that use CRCL as the reference asset. It is this distinction that causes the Fund’s strategy to be properly termed as a “synthetic covered call strategy” as opposed to a traditional covered call strategy, because the Fund primarily has synthetic exposure to CRCL. The Fund’s synthetic exposure to CRCL is achieved through the combination of purchasing call options and selling put options generally at the same strike price which, synthetically creates the upside and downside participation in the price returns of CRCL. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to increases in value experienced by CRCL through the purchase of call options. As a buyer of these options, the Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by CRCL through the sale of put options. As the seller of these options, the Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of CRCL both on the upside and downside. The Fund intends to continuously maintain exposure to CRCL through the use of options. When such options expire or are exercised, the Fund will enter into new options. This is a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in higher levels of portfolio turnover.
17
As the primary means by which the Fund intends to generate income, the Fund will sell call options that reference CRCL at a strike price that is expected to be approximately between 0% and 15% above the then-current share price of CRCL. It is important to note that the sale of these call options to generate income will limit the Fund’s ability to participate in increases in value of CRCL’s share price beyond a certain point. If the share price of CRCL increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if CRCL’s share price appreciates in value beyond the strike price of one or more of the call option contracts that the Fund has sold to generate income, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to CRCL and the sold CRCL call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains of CRCL’s share price beyond a certain point. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the potential upside price return growth of CRCL into current income. Such income may be less than the upside return of CRCL. It is expected that the call options the Fund will sell to generate options premiums will generally have expirations of approximately one year or less and will be held to or close to expiration.
In addition to the options contracts, the Fund will also invest in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, which will serve to collateralize the Fund’s options positions and provide additional income. The market value of the cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options package is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to CRCL equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
It is critical that investors understand the following:
| 1. | An investment in the Fund is not an investment in CRCL. |
| 2. | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if shares of CRCL decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| 3. | The Fund does not invest directly in shares of CRCL. |
| 4. | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any CRCL dividends. |
18
Additional Information About CRCL
Circle Internet Group, Inc. is a peer-to-peer payments company that serves as the issuer of stablecoins. A stablecoin is a digital asset whose value is designed to track the price of an underlying asset or another unit of value. CRCL is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by Circle Internet Group, Inc. pursuant to the Exchange Act, including financial reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding Circle Internet Group, Inc. can be located by reference to the SEC Commission file number 001-42671 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding Circle Internet Group, Inc. may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding Circle Internet Group, Inc. from the publicly available documents described above. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, nor any affiliate has participated in the preparation of such documents. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, nor any affiliate makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding Circle Internet Group, Inc. is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date of the prospectus (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of CRCL have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of, or failure to disclose, material future events concerning Circle Internet Group, Inc. could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to CRCL and therefore the value of the Fund. Lastly, neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any of their respective affiliates, make any representations investors as to the performance of CRCL.
Principal Risks
As
with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund.
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates, disruptions to trade, impositions of tariffs and perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of Fund Shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, Fund Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid-ask spread on Fund Shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
19
Covered Call Strategy Risk. A covered call strategy involves writing (selling) covered call options in return for the receipt of premiums. The seller of the option gives up the opportunity to benefit from price increases in the underlying instrument above the exercise price of the options but continues to bear the risk of underlying instrument price declines. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from underlying instrument price declines over time. As a result, the risks associated with writing covered call options may be similar to the risks associated with writing put options. Exchanges may suspend the trading of options during periods of abnormal market volatility. Suspension of trading may mean that an option seller is unable to sell options at a time that may be desirable or advantageous to do so.
The covered call strategy utilized by the Fund is “synthetic” because the Fund’s exposure to the price return of CRCL is derived through options exposure rather than direct holdings of the shares of CRCL. Because such exposure is synthetic, it is possible that the Fund’s participation in the price return of CRCL may not be as precise as if the Fund were directly holding shares of CRCL.
CRCL Investing Risks. The Fund will have significant exposure to CRCL through its investments in options contracts that utilize CRCL as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will subject to the risks of CRCL, set forth below.
CRCL-Issuer Specific Risks. CRCL faces significant risks as an issuer of stablecoins, in particular USDC, a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins face growing scrutiny from U.S. and global regulators due to their potential implications for financial stability, illicit finance, monetary policy and consumer protection. Changes in regulatory treatment, including legislation or enforcement actions restricting the issuance, redemption, or reserve management of stablecoins, could significantly impair Circle’s business model and financial condition. CRCL’s ability to maintain the 1:1 backing of USDC with high-quality liquid assets, primarily U.S. Treasuries and cash, is critical to its credibility and adoption. Any perceived instability, lack of transparency or reserve shortfall could lead to rapid redemptions and reputational damage. Additionally, CRCL is exposed to operational and cybersecurity risks inherent in managing a digital financial infrastructure, as well as technology risk tied to the performance of public blockchains on which USDC circulates. As a newly listed company, CRCL may also experience heightened share price volatility, limited trading history, and reduced analyst coverage, which may contribute to price instability. The Fund’s concentrated exposure to CRCL may result in a disproportionate impact on its performance in the event of adverse developments affecting Circle or the broader stablecoin ecosystem.
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
20
Indirect Investment Risk. Circle Internet Group, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or, any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of CRCL and make no representation as to the performance of CRCL. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in CRCL. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to CRCL.
Financial Companies Risk. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, supply chains, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics, and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability.
Stablecoin Risk. The Fund will have significant exposure to stablecoins, as a result of its concentrated exposure to CRCL, an issuer of stablecoins. Although U.S. dollar- or Euro-pegged stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value by being backed by fiat currency reserves or other liquid assets, there is no guarantee that the peg will be maintained or that the reserves will be sufficient, transparent or accessible in times of market stress. The issuer’s ability to honor redemptions on a 1:1 basis may be impaired by inadequate reserve management, limited oversight, insolvency or legal restrictions. Moreover, the stablecoin market is subject to an evolving regulatory environment. Any legislative or enforcement actions targeting stablecoin issuers, custodians or reserve assets could impact the stablecoin’s functionality, tradability or value. Even where reserves are fully collateralized, lack of independent audits, insufficient disclosures or concentration in a single custodian or asset type (e.g., short-term U.S. Treasuries) may expose investors to hidden vulnerabilities. Additionally, stablecoins are typically reliant on blockchain infrastructure and smart contracts, which may be subject to bugs, outages or cyberattacks. A failure to maintain the peg or loss of confidence in the stablecoin could result in rapid redemptions, illiquidity, and significant losses to investors. Investors should not assume that exposure to a U.S. dollar- or Euro-pegged stablecoin is equivalent to holding U.S. dollars, Euros or risk-free assets.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.
21
Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including the options held by the Fund, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearinghouse, such as the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearinghouses, and only members of a clearinghouse (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearinghouse, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. With regard its cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to, and receive payments from, a clearinghouse through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any option contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for its options position may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearinghouse, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. The loss of a clearing member for the Fund to transact with could result in increased transaction costs and other operational issues that could impede the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
Concentration Risk. The Fund is susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in investments that provide exposure to CRCL and the industry to which it is assigned. As of March 1, 2026, CRCL is assigned to the “diversified financials” industry group of the financials sector.
Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. Global financial markets have experienced periods of elevated volatility driven by geopolitical conflict, changing monetary policy, regulatory developments and trade policy uncertainty, each of which may affect asset prices and market liquidity. Monetary policy remains uncertain and central banks may raise or lower interest rates depending on economic conditions, inflation trends, and financial stability considerations. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect financial markets, liquidity and the value of certain investments held by the Fund. U.S. regulators have proposed and adopted several changes to market and issuer regulations that may directly or indirectly affect the Fund and its investments. Any regulatory changes, including those relating to securities markets, derivatives markets, digital assets, market structure or disclosure requirements could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. The political and regulatory environment in the United States remains subject to change. Political developments, legislative activity, regulatory priorities and policy decisions may affect the regulatory landscape, financial markets and investor behavior. Changes in fiscal, tax, immigration, trade or other government policies may affect economic conditions and securities markets generally. Trade policy developments may also adversely affect financial markets and economic conditions. The United States has implemented and proposed tariffs and other trade restrictions affecting various trading partners, and foreign governments have implemented or may implement retaliatory trade measures. Trade policy uncertainty, including uncertainty regarding the scope, duration, and legal authority for tariffs or other trade restrictions, may disrupt global supply chains, reduce international trade, increase costs for businesses and consumers and contribute to market volatility. Geopolitical conflicts may also adversely affect global markets. Ongoing hostilities and military actions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other parties in the Middle East have heightened the risk of broader regional instability and have contributed to volatility in energy markets and global financial markets. Escalation of these or other regional conflicts could disrupt energy supplies, shipping routes, and global supply chains. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to contribute to geopolitical risk and may affect global markets, particularly commodities and energy markets. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as financial markets generally, may also be adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions or disputes. For example, tensions between the United States and China remain ongoing, including disputes relating to trade, technology, and national security. In addition, the Chinese government continues to assert territorial claims involving Taiwan. If geopolitical tensions involving China, Taiwan, or other regions escalate, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets, and individual securities may be adversely affected and the value of the Fund’s assets may decline. Technological developments may also significantly affect markets and the performance of the Fund. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure may transform industries, alter labor markets, and lead to new regulatory frameworks. In addition, cybersecurity incidents involving government entities, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, or other participants could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, and negatively impact financial markets or the Fund’s service providers. These events, and other unforeseen developments, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
22
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks due to breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures, and/or financial loss. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks due to efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or the issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships, government programs and policies, national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation, and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
23
FLEX Options Risk. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience losses from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund’s FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund Shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of Fund Shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection could reduce the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. This risk is more prevalent with respect to fixed income securities held by the Fund.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments, and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
24
Leverage Risk. While the Fund does not seek leveraged exposure to CRCL, the Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of CRCL by using the leverage inherent in options contracts. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Options trading involves a degree of leverage and, as a result, a relatively small price movement in futures instruments may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The market for options on CRCL may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. Such large positions also may impact the price of options on CRCL.
Non-Diversification
Risk.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology, or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund’s portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund’s ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options.
25
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may experience high levels of portfolio turnover. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Special Tax Risk. The Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” or “RIC.” If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the FLEX Options as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Fund intends to treat the issuer of the FLEX Options as the referenced asset, which may allow the Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the FLEX Options is not appropriately the referenced asset, the Fund may lose its own status as a RIC if tax positions reflected by such options are large enough.
Structural ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF. Accordingly, it is subject to certain risks associated with its unique structure.
Active Market Risk. Although Fund Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Fund Shares will develop or be maintained. Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value. Securities, including Fund Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs, such as the Fund, which invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
26
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently expects to effect a significant portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind securities. Paying redemption proceeds in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may require the Fund to dispose of or sell portfolio securities or other assets at an inopportune time to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher or lower annual capital gains distributions than ETFs that redeem in kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause Fund Shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
Costs of Buying and Selling Fund Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Fund Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Fund Shares may significantly reduce investment results, and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Premium/Discount Risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
27
Management
Investment Adviser: Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC (“BIM”)
Portfolio Managers: Jennifer Thornton, Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM, and Daniela Padilla, Portfolio Manager at BIM, are the individuals that are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each has served as portfolio manager since the Fund’s inception in October 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the Exchange, other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks, and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.icrcetf.com.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
28
The
Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income.
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
| $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the period October 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December
31, 2025, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
29
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide current income while providing exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of one or more exchange-traded products that hold ether directly or provide exposure to ether through investments in futures contracts that utilize ether as a reference asset (each, an “Ether ETP,” and together, the “Ether ETPs”), subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund seeks to achieve these investment objectives through the use of a synthetic covered call strategy. The Fund seeks to provide its synthetic exposure to the price return of the Ether ETP(s) through the purchase and sale of a combination of call and put option contracts that utilize an Ether ETP as the reference asset (“Ether ETP Call Options” and “Ether ETP Put Options,” respectively, and together, “Ether ETP Options”). The Fund will also sell Ether ETP Call Options in seeking to generate income in the form of option premiums. However, the sale of Ether ETP Call Options to generate income will also limit the degree to which the Fund will participate in investment gains experienced by the Ether ETP(s). The Fund does not invest directly in ether.
In implementing its investment strategy, the Fund will invest in traditional exchange-traded options contracts and/or FLexible EXchange® options (“FLEX Options”) that utilize an Ether ETP as the reference asset. The Fund will only invest in options contracts that are listed for trading on regulated U.S. exchanges. Traditional exchange-traded options have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price and expiration date. Exchange-listed options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). FLEX Options are a type of exchange-listed options contract with uniquely customizable terms that allow investors to customize key terms like type, strike price and expiration date that are standardized in a typical options contract. FLEX Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. It is anticipated that the Fund will invest primarily in FLEX Options. The FLEX Options held by the Fund may be either physical or cash settled.
In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the asset underlying the option (in this case, an Ether ETP) at a specified exercise price. The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying asset upon payment of the exercise price (call) or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying asset (put). The Fund may utilize both European and American style options. An option is said to be “European Style” when it can be exercised only at expiration whereas an “American Style” option can be exercised at any time prior to expiration.
In a traditional covered call strategy, an investor (such as the Fund) sells a call option on a security it already owns. However, the Fund will derive its exposure to the Ether ETP(s) through the use of Ether ETP Options. It is this distinction that causes the Fund’s strategy to be properly termed as a “synthetic covered call strategy,” as opposed to a traditional covered call strategy, because the Fund primarily has synthetic exposure to the Ether ETP(s). The Fund’s synthetic exposure to the Ether ETP(s) is achieved through the combination of purchasing Ether ETP Call Options and selling Ether ETP Put Options generally at the same strike price, which synthetically creates the upside and downside participation in the price returns of the Ether ETP(s). The Fund will primarily gain exposure to increases in value experienced by the Ether ETP(s) through the purchase of Ether ETP Call Options. As a buyer of these options, the Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by the Ether ETP(s) through the sale of Ether ETP Put Options. As the seller of these options, the Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. In combination, the purchased Ether ETP Call Options and sold Ether ETP Put Options generally provide exposure to price returns of the Ether ETP(s) both on the upside and downside. The Fund intends to continuously maintain exposure to the Ether ETP(s) through the use of Ether ETP Options. When such options expire or are exercised, the Fund will enter into new options. This is a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in higher levels of portfolio turnover.
30
As the primary means by which the Fund intends to generate income, the Fund will sell Ether ETP Call Options at a strike price that is expected to be approximately between 0% and 15% above the then-current share price of an Ether ETP. It is important to note that the sale of these Ether ETP Call Options to generate income will limit the Fund’s ability to participate in increases in value of an Ether ETP’s share price beyond a certain point. If the share price of an Ether ETP increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if an Ether ETP’s share price appreciates in value beyond the strike price of one or more of the Ether ETP Call Options that the Fund has sold to generate income, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Ether ETP(s) and the sold Ether ETP Call Options) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains of an Ether ETP’s share price beyond a certain point. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the potential upside price return growth of the Ether ETP(s) into current income. Such income may be less than the upside return of the Ether ETP(s). It is expected that the call options the Fund will sell to generate options premiums will generally have expirations of approximately one year or less and will be held to or close to expiration.
In addition to the options contracts, the Fund will also invest in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, which will serve to collateralize the Fund’s Ether ETP Options and provide additional income. The market value of the cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options package is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to the Ether ETP(s) equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
It is critical that investors understand the following:
| 1. | An investment in the Fund is not an investment in an Ether ETP. |
| 2. | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if shares of Ether ETPs decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| 3. | The Fund does not invest directly in shares of an Ether ETP. |
31
Additional Information About the Ether ETPs
The Ether ETPs serving as the reference asset for Ether ETP Options may be structured as ETPs that hold ether directly (“Spot Ether ETPs”) or as ETFs that derive exposure to ether through investments in exchange-traded futures contracts that utilize ether as the reference asset (“Ether Futures ETFs”).
Spot Ether ETPs are organized as Delaware statutory trusts, issuing shares that represent fractional, undivided beneficial interests in their respective net assets, which consist almost exclusively of ether. Each Spot Ether ETP aims to closely track ether’s price performance. Spot Ether ETPs are not registered as investment companies under the 1940 Act. Additionally, their sponsors are not registered with the SEC as investment advisers and, therefore, are not subject to SEC regulation in that capacity regarding their activities related to managing the Spot Ether ETPs. Moreover, Spot Ether ETPs are not classified as commodity pools under the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as amended (the “CEA”), and consequently, the sponsors are not regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) as commodity pool operators or commodity trading advisors with respect to their operation of the Ether ETPs. Spot Ether ETPs are registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. Information provided to or filed with the SEC by the underlying issuer of a Spot Ether ETP pursuant to the Exchange Act, including financial reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding Ether ETPs, can be located through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Ether Futures ETFs are registered under the 1940 Act and do not invest directly in ether. Ether Futures ETFs seek to provide investment results that correspond to the performance of ether through investments in ether futures contracts. The ether futures contracts held by Ether Futures ETFs are standardized, cash-settled ether futures contracts traded on commodity exchanges registered with the CFTC. Ether Futures ETFs generally seek to invest in cash-settled, front-month ether futures contracts. Certain Ether Futures ETFs gain exposure to ether by investing in ether futures contracts through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Because such Ether Futures ETFs intend to qualify for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), such Ether Futures ETFs intend to invest no more than 25% of its total assets in the subsidiary at each quarter end of the fund’s tax year. An Ether Futures ETF may also utilize reverse repurchase agreements during certain times of the year to help maintain the desired level of exposure to ether futures contracts.
Principal Risks
As
with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund.
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates, disruptions to trade, impositions of tariffs and perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of Fund Shares, the liquidity of an investment and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, Fund Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on Fund Shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
32
Covered Call Strategy Risk. A covered call strategy involves writing (selling) covered call options in return for the receipt of premiums. The seller of the option gives up the opportunity to benefit from price increases in the underlying instrument above the exercise price of the options but continues to bear the risk of underlying instrument price declines. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from underlying instrument price declines over time. As a result, the risks associated with writing covered call options may be similar to the risks associated with writing put options. Exchanges may suspend the trading of options during periods of abnormal market volatility. Suspension of trading may mean that an option seller is unable to sell options at a time that may be desirable or advantageous to do so.
The covered call strategy utilized by the Fund is “synthetic” because the Fund’s exposure to the price return of the Ether ETP(s) is derived through options exposure rather than direct holdings of the shares of the Ether ETP(s). Because such exposure is synthetic, it is possible that the Fund’s participation in the price return of the Ether ETP(s) may not be as precise as if the Fund were directly holding shares of the Ether ETP(s).
Spot Ether ETP Risks. The Fund may have exposure to Spot Ether ETPs through its utilization of Ether ETP Options that utilize a Spot Ether ETP as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of Spot Ether ETPs set forth below.
Ether Risk. Ether is subject to significant volatility, rapid price fluctuations, and uncertainty. Although ether has experienced increased institutional attention, technological development, and broader adoption in recent years, its value continues to be influenced by market sentiment, speculative investment activity, macroeconomic conditions, and technological developments rather than traditional fundamental analysis. The Ethereum blockchain is an evolving technology platform that continues to undergo significant upgrades intended to improve scalability, security, and functionality. In recent years, the Ethereum network transitioned from a Proof of Work consensus mechanism to a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. Additional upgrades and scalability solutions, including rollups and other Layer 2 technologies, continue to be developed and implemented. While these developments are intended to enhance network efficiency and usability, technological changes introduce risks including coding errors, software vulnerabilities, delays in development, network disruptions, or unintended economic consequences that could negatively affect investor confidence, network adoption, or the value of ether. The regulatory environment for ether and the Ethereum blockchain remains uncertain and continues to evolve globally. Regulatory authorities may take differing or inconsistent approaches regarding the classification, trading, custody or taxation of ether. Regulatory actions may include enforcement proceedings, new legislation or regulatory guidance affecting digital asset markets. Changes in the regulatory classification of ether, including the possibility that ether could be treated differently under securities, commodities, or other regulatory regimes, could materially affect ether’s value, liquidity, or market perception. The Ethereum ecosystem relies extensively on smart contracts and decentralized applications that operate on the Ethereum blockchain. Smart contracts are computer code designed to automatically execute transactions or other functions. Although smart contracts enable a wide range of decentralized finance and blockchain applications, they are subject to risks including coding vulnerabilities, exploitation, hacking incidents, and design flaws. Security breaches involving decentralized finance platforms, decentralized exchanges, or other smart contract based systems have resulted in significant financial losses in the past and could negatively affect market sentiment, investor confidence, and the value of ether. Competition from other blockchain networks remains significant. Alternative Layer 1 blockchain platforms, including networks such as Solana, Avalanche, Cardano, Polkadot, and others, may offer technological advantages such as faster transaction speeds, lower fees, improved scalability or specialized features. The successful adoption and development of competing blockchain ecosystems could reduce Ethereum’s market share, developer activity, or network usage and could negatively affect the long-term value of ether. The Ethereum network may also face governance risks. Decisions regarding protocol upgrades, network parameters or other changes are generally determined through decentralized processes involving developers, validators and other network participants. Disagreements among participants or failures to achieve consensus could lead to contentious blockchain forks, fragmentation of the network, or diminished market confidence. Any of these risks, individually or collectively, could materially and adversely affect the acceptance and market value of ether.
33
Custody Risk. Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in relation to digital assets. The ether held by the Spot Ether ETPs’ custodian will likely be an appealing target to hackers or malware distributors seeking to destroy, damage or steal the Spot Ether ETPs’ ether. To the extent that the Spot Ether ETPs and their service providers are unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats or otherwise adapt to technological changes in the digital asset industry, a Spot Ether ETP’s ether may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack. The Spot Ether ETPs have put security procedures in place to prevent such theft, loss or destruction, including but not limited to, offline storage, or cold storage, multiple encrypted private key “shards” and other measures. Nevertheless, the security procedures cannot guarantee the prevention of any loss due to a security breach, software defect or act of God that may be borne by the Spot Ether ETPs and the security procedures may not protect against all errors, software flaws or other vulnerabilities in a Spot Ether ETP’s technical infrastructure, which could result in theft, loss or damage of its assets. The Spot Ether ETPs do not control the operations of their service providers or their implementation of such security procedures, and there can be no assurance that such security procedures will actually work as designed or prove to be successful in safeguarding a Spot Ether ETP’s assets against all possible sources of theft, loss or damage. Assets not held in cold storage, such as assets held in a trading account, may be more vulnerable to security breach, hacking or loss than assets held in cold storage. Furthermore, assets held in a trading account are held on an omnibus rather than segregated basis, which creates greater risk of loss. The security procedures and operational infrastructure may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, error or malfeasance of an employee of a Spot Ether ETP’s service providers, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to the Spot Ether ETP’s account at the custodian where its ether is held, the relevant private keys (and therefore ether) or other data or property of a Spot Ether ETP. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees of a Spot Ether ETP or its service providers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to a Spot Ether ETP’s infrastructure. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently, or may be designed to remain dormant until a predetermined event and often are not recognized until launched against a target, a Spot Ether ETP and its service providers may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures.
Digital Asset Trading Platforms Risk. Digital asset trading platforms remain relatively new and vary significantly in terms of regulation, transparency, operational stability and compliance standards. While certain prominent trading platforms—particularly those based in the United States—have substantially improved transparency, compliance, and regulatory adherence, many platforms still operate internationally or offshore with significantly less stringent oversight. Platforms located outside the United States may be subject to minimal or inconsistent regulatory enforcement and often do not provide sufficient public information regarding their management structure, ownership, financial stability, cybersecurity practices, or compliance controls. Despite increased institutional involvement, enhanced security measures, and more standardized operating practices adopted by leading platforms, digital asset exchanges continue to be vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, hacking incidents, fraudulent activities, operational disruptions and other technical risks. High-profile failures, breaches or shutdowns of major trading platforms or custodians, such as those arising from fraud, cybersecurity incidents, regulatory enforcement actions or insolvency, can significantly reduce investor confidence, increase market volatility and potentially trigger contagion effects across the digital asset ecosystem. Regulatory developments and enforcement actions continue to shape the landscape in which digital asset platforms operate. Recent regulatory scrutiny has heightened globally, particularly in jurisdictions with substantial trading volumes, such as the United States, Europe and Asia. Increased regulatory oversight, while potentially positive for market stability in the long run, can create short-term disruption, reduce liquidity, prompt platform closures or alter business models substantially, thereby affecting the prices of digital assets, including ether. Investors should be aware that trading or custodying ether on less transparent or poorly regulated platforms increases the risk of losing access to digital assets due to platform insolvency, hacking incidents, regulatory intervention or operational failure. Although improvements have been made, the digital asset marketplace remains inherently riskier than traditional financial markets, and investors may have limited recourse if a digital asset trading platform fails or is compromised.
34
Irrevocability of Transactions Risk. Ether transactions are typically not reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to the Ethereum blockchain, an incorrect transfer or theft of ether generally will not be reversible, and a Spot Ether ETP may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or other criminal action, a Spot Ether ETP’s ether could be transferred from a Spot Ether ETP’s account at its custodian in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts.
Trading Halt Risk. Trading in shares of a Spot Ether ETP on U.S. securities exchanges may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of an exchange, make trading in shares of a Spot Ether ETP inadvisable. In addition, trading of shares of a Spot Ether ETP on securities exchanges is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to an exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. Shares of a Spot Ether ETP may be at a higher risk of a trading halt due to the volatility of ether. In the event that shares of a Spot Ether ETP are subject to a trading halt, the Fund’s ability to pursue its principal investment strategy may be impaired and the Fund may be negatively affected.
Volatility Risk. The price of ether remains highly volatile and subject to significant price fluctuations. While recent increases in institutional adoption, clearer regulatory frameworks and broader market acceptance have contributed to greater stability relative to earlier periods, the price of ether continues to be influenced by rapid shifts in market sentiment, regulatory developments, macroeconomic conditions, technological advancements and unforeseen events. The market price of ether has historically experienced dramatic highs and lows over short periods, often with limited or no identifiable catalyst. Given the evolving nature of digital asset markets, price volatility may be amplified by external factors such as changes in global financial markets, geopolitical events, regulatory enforcement actions or significant technological or security incidents. Furthermore, speculative trading, leveraged positions and derivatives markets tied to ether continue to contribute to potential volatility. Investors should remain aware that sudden, substantial price movements may occur at any time, potentially leading to significant losses. Consequently, investments linked directly or indirectly to ether, including Spot Ether ETPs, may experience heightened volatility compared to traditional investment products.
Ether Futures ETFs Risk. The Fund may have exposure to Ether Futures ETFs through its utilization of Ether ETP Options that utilize an Ether Futures ETF as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of Ether Futures ETFs set forth below. Ether Futures ETFs are also subject to the risks set forth above in Spot Ether ETPs Risk, as well as Active Management Risk, Concentration Risk, Cybersecurity Risk, Derivatives Risk, Leverage Risk, Liquidity Risk, Operational Risk, Structural ETF Risk, U.S. Government Securities Risk and Valuation Risk set forth below.
Ether Futures Risk. The market for ether futures contracts may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. While the market for ether futures contracts has grown substantially since ether futures contracts commenced trading, there can be no assurance that this growth will continue. The price for ether futures contracts is based on a number of factors, including the supply of and the demand for ether futures contracts. Market conditions and expectations, position limits, accountability levels, collateral requirements, availability of counterparties, and other factors each can impact the supply of and demand for ether futures contracts. Additionally, due to the high margin requirements that are unique to ether futures contracts, an Ether Futures ETF may experience difficulty maintaining the desired level of exposure to ether futures contracts. If an Ether Futures ETF is unable to achieve such exposure it may not be able to meet its investment objective and the fund’s returns may be different or lower than expected. Additionally, collateral requirements may require an Ether Futures ETF to liquidate its positions, potentially incurring losses and expenses, when it otherwise would not do so. Investing in derivatives like ether futures contracts may be considered aggressive and may expose an Ether Futures ETF to significant risks. These risks include counterparty risk and liquidity risk.
35
Ether Futures Capacity Risk. If an Ether Futures ETF’s ability to obtain exposure to ether futures contracts consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the ether futures contracts market, a disruption to the ether futures contracts market, or as a result of margin requirements, position limits, accountability levels, or other limitations imposed by an Ether Future ETF’s futures commission merchants (“FCMs”), the listing exchanges, or the CFTC, an Ether Futures ETF may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
Any disruption in an Ether Futures ETF’s ability to obtain exposure to ether futures contracts will cause the Ether Futures ETF’s performance to deviate from the performance of ether futures contracts, and consequently, ether. Additionally, the ability of an Ether Futures ETF to obtain exposure to ether futures contracts may be limited by certain tax rules that limit the amount an Ether Futures ETF can invest in its wholly-owned subsidiary as of the end of each tax quarter. Exceeding this amount may have tax consequences.
Cost of Futures Investment Risk. When an ether futures contract is nearing expiration, an Ether Futures ETF will “roll” the futures contract, which means it will generally sell the ether futures contract and use the proceeds to buy an ether futures contract with a later expiration date. When rolling futures contracts that are in contango, an Ether Futures ETF would sell a lower priced, expiring contract and purchase a higher priced, longer-dated contract. The price difference between the expiring contract and longer-dated contract associated with rolling futures contracts is typically substantially higher than the price difference associated with rolling other futures contracts. Ether futures contracts have historically experienced extended periods of contango. Contango in the ether futures contracts market may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of an Ether Futures ETF and may cause ether futures contracts, and an Ether Futures ETF, to underperform the current price of ether. Both contango and backwardation would reduce an Ether Futures ETF’s correlation to the current price of ether and may limit or prevent an Ether Futures ETF from achieving its investment objective.
Clearing Broker Risk. An Ether Futures ETF’s investments in exchange-traded futures contracts expose it to the risks of a clearing broker (or an FCM). Under current regulations, a clearing broker or FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. There is a risk that the assets of an Ether Futures ETF deposited with the clearing broker to serve as margin may be used to satisfy the broker’s own obligations or the losses of the broker’s other clients. In the event of default, an Ether Futures ETF could experience lengthy delays in recovering some or all of its assets and may not see any recovery at all. Furthermore, an Ether Futures ETF is subject to the risk that no FCM is willing or able to clear the Fund’s transactions or maintain an Ether Futures ETF’s assets. If an Ether Futures ETF’s FCMs are unable or unwilling to clear an Ether Futures ETF’s transactions, or if the FCM refuses to maintain an Ether Futures ETF’s assets, an Ether Futures ETF will be unable have its orders for ether futures contracts fulfilled or assets custodied. In such a circumstance, the performance of an Ether Futures ETF will likely deviate from the performance of ether and may result in the proportion of ether futures contracts in an Ether Futures ETF’s portfolio relative to the total assets of an Ether Futures ETF to decrease.
36
Commodity Regulatory Risk. An Ether Futures ETF’s use of commodities futures subject to regulation by the CFTC has caused an Ether Futures ETF to be classified as a “commodity pool” and this designation requires that an Ether Futures ETF comply with CFTC rules, which may impose additional regulatory requirements and compliance obligations. An Ether Futures ETF’s investment decisions may need to be modified, and commodity contract positions held by an Ether Futures ETF may have to be liquidated at disadvantageous times or prices, to avoid exceeding any applicable position limits established by the CFTC, potentially subjecting an Ether Futures ETF to substantial losses. The regulation of commodity transactions in the United States is subject to ongoing modification by government, self-regulatory and judicial action. The effect of any future regulatory change with respect to any aspect of an Ether Futures ETF is impossible to predict, but could be substantial and adverse to an Ether Futures ETF.
Futures Contract Risk. Risks of futures contracts include: (i) an imperfect correlation between the value of the futures contract and the underlying asset; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market; (iii) the inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iv) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which may be unlimited; (v) an obligation for an Ether Futures ETF to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin, particularly at times when an Ether Futures ETF may have insufficient cash; and (vi) unfavorable execution prices from rapid selling. Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for settlement in cash based on the reference asset. As the futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. This process is referred to as “rolling.” If the market for these contracts is in “contango,” meaning that the prices of futures contracts in the nearer months are lower than the price of contracts in the distant months, the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a lower price than the longer-term contract, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contract. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will be dependent upon the difference in price of the near and distant contract. The costs associated with rolling ether futures contracts may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Ether Futures ETF.
Subsidiary Investment Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which certain Ether Futures ETFs and their wholly-owned Cayman subsidiaries are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of an Ether Futures ETF to operate as intended and could negatively affect an Ether Futures ETF and its shareholders (such as the Fund). An Ether Futures ETF’s Cayman subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies or could have negative returns.
Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including the options held by the Fund, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearinghouse, such as the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearinghouses, and only members of a clearinghouse (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearinghouse, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. With regard to its cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to, and receive payments from, a clearinghouse through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any option contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not associated with any of the clearing member’s individual customers by name. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for its options position may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearinghouse, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. The loss of a clearing member for the Fund to transact with could result in increased transaction costs and other operational issues that could impede the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
37
Concentration Risk. The Fund is susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in investments that provide exposure to ether.
Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. Global financial markets have experienced periods of elevated volatility driven by geopolitical conflict, changing monetary policy, regulatory developments and trade policy uncertainty, each of which may affect asset prices and market liquidity. Monetary policy remains uncertain and central banks may raise or lower interest rates depending on economic conditions, inflation trends, and financial stability considerations. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect financial markets, liquidity and the value of certain investments held by the Fund. U.S. regulators have proposed and adopted several changes to market and issuer regulations that may directly or indirectly affect the Fund and its investments. Any regulatory changes, including those relating to securities markets, derivatives markets, digital assets, market structure or disclosure requirements could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. The political and regulatory environment in the United States remains subject to change. Political developments, legislative activity, regulatory priorities and policy decisions may affect the regulatory landscape, financial markets and investor behavior. Changes in fiscal, tax, immigration, trade or other government policies may affect economic conditions and securities markets generally. Trade policy developments may also adversely affect financial markets and economic conditions. The United States has implemented and proposed tariffs and other trade restrictions affecting various trading partners, and foreign governments have implemented or may implement retaliatory trade measures. Trade policy uncertainty, including uncertainty regarding the scope, duration, and legal authority for tariffs or other trade restrictions, may disrupt global supply chains, reduce international trade, increase costs for businesses and consumers and contribute to market volatility. Geopolitical conflicts may also adversely affect global markets. Ongoing hostilities and military actions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other parties in the Middle East have heightened the risk of broader regional instability and have contributed to volatility in energy markets and global financial markets. Escalation of these or other regional conflicts could disrupt energy supplies, shipping routes, and global supply chains. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to contribute to geopolitical risk and may affect global markets, particularly commodities and energy markets. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as financial markets generally, may also be adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions or disputes. For example, tensions between the United States and China remain ongoing, including disputes relating to trade, technology, and national security. In addition, the Chinese government continues to assert territorial claims involving Taiwan. If geopolitical tensions involving China, Taiwan, or other regions escalate, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets, and individual securities may be adversely affected and the value of the Fund’s assets may decline. Technological developments may also significantly affect markets and the performance of the Fund. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure may transform industries, alter labor markets, and lead to new regulatory frameworks. In addition, cybersecurity incidents involving government entities, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, or other participants could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, and negatively impact financial markets or the Fund’s service providers. These events, and other unforeseen developments, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
38
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks due to breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks due to efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian or sub-advisor, as applicable, or the issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) the risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
39
FLEX Options Risk. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience losses from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund’s FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund Shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of Fund Shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection could reduce the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.
Leverage Risk. While the Fund does not seek leveraged exposure to the Ether ETPs, the Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of the Ether ETPs by using the leverage inherent in options contracts. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Options trading involves a degree of leverage and, as a result, a relatively small price movement in futures instruments may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The market for Ether ETP Options may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. Such large positions also may impact the price of Ether ETP Options.
Non-Diversification
Risk.
40
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error; processing and communication errors; errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties; failed or inadequate processes; and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund’s portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund’s ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may experience high levels of portfolio turnover. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Special Tax Risk. The Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”), however, the federal income tax treatment of certain aspects of the proposed operations of the Fund are not entirely clear. This includes the tax aspects of the Fund’s options strategy, the possible application of the “straddle” rules, and various loss limitation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation.
To the extent that the Fund investments in Ether ETP Options include offsetting positions, the character of gains or losses realized by the Fund under the Code’s “straddle” rules may be affected and may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by the Fund. The Fund may hold certain options that do not qualify as “Section 1256 contracts” under Section 1256 of the Code, and disposition of such options will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses depending on the holding period.
The Fund intends to treat the income it derives from gains on options referencing Spot Ether ETPs as “qualifying income” for purposes of the RIC qualification rules under Subchapter M of the Code. It has adopted this position in reliance on an opinion obtained from counsel that income from such investments should constitute “qualifying income,” as the Spot Ether ETPs referenced by the options constitute “securities” under Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act. However, this opinion is not binding upon the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). If the IRS were to successfully assert that the Fund’s income from such investments was not “qualifying income,” the Fund may fail to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M if over 10% of its gross income was derived from these investments. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC, it would be subject to federal and state income tax on all of its taxable income at regular corporate tax rates with no deduction for any distributions paid to shareholders, which would significantly adversely affect the returns to, and could cause substantial losses for, Fund shareholders.
41
To maintain its status as a RIC, the Fund must distribute 90% of its investment company taxable income annually. In addition, to avoid a non-deductible excise tax, the Fund must distribute 98% of its ordinary income and 98.2% of its capital gain net income. Separately, depending upon the circumstances, sales to fund redemptions could cause the Fund to recognize income that the Fund is required to distribute to maintain the Fund’s RIC status and avoid the excise tax. Funding such distributions could require additional sales, which could require more distributions and affect the projected performance of the Fund. Alternatively, if the Fund only makes distributions to maintain its RIC status and becomes subject to the excise tax, that could also affect the projected performance of the Fund. In either case, the assets sold to fund redemptions, distributions or pay the excise tax will not be available to assist the Fund in meeting its investment objective.
In the event that a shareholder purchases shares of the Fund shortly before a distribution by the Fund, the entire distribution may be taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of the purchase price.
Structural ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF. Accordingly, it is subject to certain risks associated with its unique structure.
Active Market Risk. Although Fund Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Fund Shares will develop or be maintained. Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value. Securities, including Fund Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs, such as the Fund, which invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently expects to effect a significant portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind securities. Paying redemption proceeds in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may require the Fund to dispose of or sell portfolio securities or other assets at an inopportune time to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher or lower annual capital gains distributions than ETFs that redeem in-kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause Fund Shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
42
Costs of Buying and Selling Fund Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Fund Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Fund Shares may significantly reduce investment results, and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Premium/Discount Risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
43
Management
Investment Adviser: Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC (“BIM”)
Portfolio Managers: Jennifer Thornton, Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM, and Daniela Padilla, Portfolio Manager at BIM, are the individuals that are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each has served as portfolio manager since the Fund’s inception in October 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the Exchange, other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.iethetf.com
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
44
The
Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income.
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
| $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the period June 9, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December 31,
2025, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
45
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide current income while providing exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of GME, subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund seeks to achieve these investment objectives through the use of a synthetic covered call strategy. The Fund seeks to provide its synthetic exposure to the price return of GME through the purchase and sale of a combination of call and put option contracts that utilize GME as the reference asset. The Fund will also sell call options that utilize GME as the reference asset to generate income in the form of option premiums, but will also limit the degree to which the Fund will participate in investment gains experienced by GME.
In implementing its investment strategy, the Fund will invest in traditional exchange-traded options contracts and/or FLexible EXchange® options (“FLEX Options”) that utilize GME as the reference asset. The Fund will only invest in options contracts that are listed for trading on regulated U.S. exchanges. Traditional exchange-traded options have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price, and the expiration date. Exchange-listed options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). FLEX Options are a type of exchange-listed options contract with uniquely customizable terms that allow investors to customize key terms like type, strike price and expiration date that are standardized in a typical options contract. FLEX Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. It is anticipated that the Fund will invest primarily in FLEX Options. The FLEX Options held by the Fund may be either physical or cash-settled.
In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying (in this case, GME) the option at a specified exercise price. The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price (call) or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency (put). The Fund may utilize both European and American style options. An option is said to be “European Style” when it can be exercised only at expiration whereas an “American Style” option can be exercised at any time prior to expiration.
In a traditional covered call strategy, an investor (such as the Fund) sells a call option on a security it already owns. However, the Fund will derive its exposure to GME through the use of options contracts that use GME as the reference asset. It is this distinction that causes the Fund’s strategy to be properly termed as a “synthetic covered call strategy” as opposed to a traditional covered call strategy, because the Fund primarily has synthetic exposure to GME. The Fund’s synthetic exposure to GME is achieved through the combination of purchasing call options and selling put options generally at the same strike price which, synthetically creates the upside and downside participation in the price returns of GME. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to increases in value experienced by GME through the purchase of call options. As a buyer of these options, the Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by GME through the sale of put options. As the seller of these options, the Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of GME both on the upside and downside. The Fund intends to continuously maintain exposure to GME through the use of options. When such options expire or are exercised, the Fund will enter into new options. This is a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in higher levels of portfolio turnover.
46
As the primary means by which the Fund intends to generate income, the Fund will sell call options that reference GME at a strike price that is expected to be approximately between 0% and 15% above the then-current share price of GME. It is important to note that the sale of these call options to generate income will limit the Fund’s ability to participate in increases in value of GME’s share price beyond a certain point. If the share price of GME increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if GME’s share price appreciates in value beyond the strike price of one or more of the call option contracts that the Fund has sold to generate income, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to GME and the sold GME call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains of GME’s share price beyond a certain point. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the potential upside price return growth of GME into current income. Such income may be less than the upside return of GME. It is expected that the call options the Fund will sell to generate options premiums will generally have expirations of approximately one year or less and will be held to or close to expiration.
In addition to the options contracts, the Fund will also invest in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, which will serve to collateralize the Fund’s options positions and provide additional income. The market value of the cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options package is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to GME equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
It is critical that investors understand the following:
| 1. | An investment in the Fund is not an investment in GME. |
| 2. | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if shares of GME decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| 3. | The Fund does not invest directly in shares of GME. |
| 4. | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any GME dividends. |
47
Additional Information About GME
GameStop Corp. is a video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. GME is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by GameStop Corp. pursuant to the Exchange Act, including financial reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding GameStop Corp. can be located by reference to the SEC Commission file number 001-32637 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding GameStop Corp. may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding GameStop Corp. from the publicly available documents described above. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, nor any affiliate has participated in the preparation of such documents. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, nor any affiliate makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding GameStop Corp. is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date of the prospectus (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of GME have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of, or failure to disclose, material future events concerning GameStop Corp. could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to GME and therefore the value of the Fund. Lastly, neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any of their respective affiliates, make any representations investors as to the performance of GME.
Principal Risks
As
with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund.
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates, disruptions to trade, impositions of tariffs and perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of Fund Shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, Fund Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on Fund Shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
48
Covered Call Strategy Risk. A covered call strategy involves writing (selling) covered call options in return for the receipt of premiums. The seller of the option gives up the opportunity to benefit from price increases in the underlying instrument above the exercise price of the options but continues to bear the risk of underlying instrument price declines. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from underlying instrument price declines over time. As a result, the risks associated with writing covered call options may be similar to the risks associated with writing put options. Exchanges may suspend the trading of options during periods of abnormal market volatility. Suspension of trading may mean that an option seller is unable to sell options at a time that may be desirable or advantageous to do so.
The covered call strategy utilized by the Fund is “synthetic” because the Fund’s exposure to the price return of GME is derived through options exposure rather than direct holdings of the shares of GME. Because such exposure is synthetic, it is possible that the Fund’s participation in the price return of GME may not be as precise as if the Fund were directly holding shares of GME.
GME Investing Risks. The Fund will have significant exposure to GME through its investments in options contracts that utilize GME as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will subject to the risks of GME, set forth below.
GME-Issuer Specific Risks. GME has experienced significant volatility due to factors such as shifts in consumer behavior, e-commerce competition, evolving business strategy, and heightened media and retail investor attention. These risks may materially affect the company’s financial performance and, in turn, the value of the Fund. GME is undergoing a fundamental business transformation amid a highly dynamic retail environment. It has faced structural challenges including declining physical video game sales, increasing digital distribution, and a shift in consumer behavior away from brick-and-mortar retail. In response, GME has sought to reposition itself through strategic changes, including leadership turnover, changes in capital allocation, operational restructuring, and efforts to pivot toward digital commerce and broader technology initiatives. These initiatives involve considerable execution risk, and there is no assurance that GME’s strategy will yield sustainable profitability or long-term shareholder value. GME’s financial results may be adversely impacted by high operating leverage, elevated capital expenditure requirements, inventory risk, and potential supply chain disruptions.
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Indirect Investment Risk. GameStop Corp. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or, any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of GME and make no representation as to the performance of GME. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in GME. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to GME.
49
Consumer Discretionary Companies Risk. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, supply chains, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics, and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability.
Retail Companies Risk. Companies involved in retail may be affected by the performance of the domestic and international economy, interest rates, rates of inflation, exchange rates, competition, consumer confidence, and reputational damage. The success of companies involved in retail depends heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and changes in demographics and consumer preferences can affect the success of retail companies. Certain retail companies have historically been subject to significant seasonal and quarterly variations. The success of retail companies may be strongly affected by fads, marketing campaigns, and other factors affecting supply and demand, and a retail company’s success can be tied to its ability to anticipate changing consumer tastes. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. Certain business segments of retail companies are highly cyclical, which may cause the operating results of such retail companies to vary significantly. Retail companies may be dependent on outside financing, which may be difficult to obtain. Many of these companies are dependent on third-party suppliers and distribution systems and purchase merchandise both directly from brand owners and indirectly from retailers and third-party suppliers. Such companies may also be dependent upon suppliers for the products used for their own brand name merchandise. Reliance on third-party suppliers subjects retail companies to risks of delivery delays, price increases and receipt of nonconforming or poor-quality merchandise. Retail companies may be unable to protect their intellectual property rights and may be liable for infringing the intellectual property rights of others. Changes in labor laws and other labor issues, such as increased labor costs, could adversely affect the financial performance of retail companies. If retail companies do not maintain the security of customer-related information, they could damage their reputations with customers, incur substantial costs, and become subject to litigation, all of which could adversely affect the financial performance of such companies. The international operations of certain retail companies expose them to risks associated with instability and changes in economic and political conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in foreign regulations, tariffs, trade disputes, and other risks inherent to international business. Some of the companies in the Retail Index are engaged in other lines of business unrelated to retail, and they may experience problems with these lines of business, which could adversely affect their operating results. The operating results of these companies may fluctuate as a result of these additional risks and events in the other lines of business. In addition, a company’s ability to engage in new activities may expose it to business risks with which it has less experience than it has with the business risks associated with its traditional businesses. Despite a company’s possible success in traditional retail activities, the other lines of business in which these companies are engaged may have an adverse effect on a company’s business or financial condition.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
50
Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.
Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including the options held by the Fund, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearinghouse, such as the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearinghouses, and only members of a clearinghouse (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearinghouse, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. With regard its cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to, and receive payments from, a clearinghouse through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any option contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for its options position may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearinghouse, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. The loss of a clearing member for the Fund to transact with could result in increased transaction costs and other operational issues that could impede the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
Concentration Risk. The Fund is susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in investments that provide exposure to GME and the industry to which it is assigned. As of March 1, 2026, GME is assigned to the “retailing” industry group of the consumer discretionary sector. Please see “Consumer Discretionary Companies Risk” for a discussion regarding the risks of an investment in such companies.
51
Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. Global financial markets have experienced periods of elevated volatility driven by geopolitical conflict, changing monetary policy, regulatory developments and trade policy uncertainty, each of which may affect asset prices and market liquidity. Monetary policy remains uncertain and central banks may raise or lower interest rates depending on economic conditions, inflation trends, and financial stability considerations. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect financial markets, liquidity and the value of certain investments held by the Fund. U.S. regulators have proposed and adopted several changes to market and issuer regulations that may directly or indirectly affect the Fund and its investments. Any regulatory changes, including those relating to securities markets, derivatives markets, digital assets, market structure or disclosure requirements could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. The political and regulatory environment in the United States remains subject to change. Political developments, legislative activity, regulatory priorities and policy decisions may affect the regulatory landscape, financial markets and investor behavior. Changes in fiscal, tax, immigration, trade or other government policies may affect economic conditions and securities markets generally. Trade policy developments may also adversely affect financial markets and economic conditions. The United States has implemented and proposed tariffs and other trade restrictions affecting various trading partners, and foreign governments have implemented or may implement retaliatory trade measures. Trade policy uncertainty, including uncertainty regarding the scope, duration, and legal authority for tariffs or other trade restrictions, may disrupt global supply chains, reduce international trade, increase costs for businesses and consumers and contribute to market volatility. Geopolitical conflicts may also adversely affect global markets. Ongoing hostilities and military actions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other parties in the Middle East have heightened the risk of broader regional instability and have contributed to volatility in energy markets and global financial markets. Escalation of these or other regional conflicts could disrupt energy supplies, shipping routes, and global supply chains. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to contribute to geopolitical risk and may affect global markets, particularly commodities and energy markets. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as financial markets generally, may also be adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions or disputes. For example, tensions between the United States and China remain ongoing, including disputes relating to trade, technology, and national security. In addition, the Chinese government continues to assert territorial claims involving Taiwan. If geopolitical tensions involving China, Taiwan, or other regions escalate, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets, and individual securities may be adversely affected and the value of the Fund’s assets may decline. Technological developments may also significantly affect markets and the performance of the Fund. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure may transform industries, alter labor markets, and lead to new regulatory frameworks. In addition, cybersecurity incidents involving government entities, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, or other participants could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, and negatively impact financial markets or the Fund’s service providers. These events, and other unforeseen developments, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks due to breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures, and/or financial loss. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks due to efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or the issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
52
Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships, government programs and policies, national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation, and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
FLEX Options Risk. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience losses from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund’s FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund Shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of Fund Shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection could reduce the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.
53
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. This risk is more prevalent with respect to fixed income securities held by the Fund.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments, and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
Leverage Risk. While the Fund does not seek leveraged exposure to GME, the Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of GME by using the leverage inherent in options contracts. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Options trading involves a degree of leverage and, as a result, a relatively small price movement in futures instruments may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The market for options on GME may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. Such large positions also may impact the price of options on GME.
Non-Diversification
Risk.
54
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology, or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund’s portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund’s ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may experience high levels of portfolio turnover. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Special Tax Risk. The Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” or “RIC.” If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the FLEX Options as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Fund intends to treat the issuer of the FLEX Options as the referenced asset, which may allow the Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the FLEX Options is not appropriately the referenced asset, the Fund may lose its own status as a RIC if tax positions reflected by such options are large enough.
Structural ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF. Accordingly, it is subject to certain risks associated with its unique structure.
Active Market Risk. Although Fund Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Fund Shares will develop or be maintained. Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value. Securities, including Fund Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments.
55
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs, such as the Fund, which invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently expects to effect a significant portion of its creations and redemptions for cash rather than in-kind securities. Paying redemption proceeds in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may require the Fund to dispose of or sell portfolio securities or other assets at an inopportune time to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher or lower annual capital gains distributions than ETFs that redeem in kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause Fund Shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
Costs of Buying and Selling Fund Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Fund Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Fund Shares may significantly reduce investment results, and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Premium/Discount Risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share, and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
56
Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
Management
Investment Adviser: Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC (“BIM”)
Portfolio Managers: Jennifer Thornton, Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM, and Daniela Padilla, Portfolio Manager at BIM, are the individuals that are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each has served as portfolio manager since the Fund’s inception in June 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the Exchange, other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks, and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.igmeetf.com.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
57
The
Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income.
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
| $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the period April 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December
31, 2025, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
58
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide current income while providing exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of MARA, subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund seeks to achieve these investment objectives through the use of a synthetic covered call strategy. The Fund seeks to provide its synthetic exposure to the price return of MARA through the purchase and sale of a combination of call and put option contracts that utilize MARA as the reference asset. The Fund will also sell call options that utilize MARA as the reference asset to generate income in the form of option premiums, but will also limit the degree to which the Fund will participate in investment gains experienced by MARA.
In implementing its investment strategy, the Fund will invest in traditional exchange-traded options contracts and/or FLexible EXchange® options (“FLEX Options”) that utilize MARA as the reference asset. The Fund will only invest in options contracts that are listed for trading on regulated U.S. exchanges. Traditional exchange-traded options have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price and expiration date. Exchange-listed options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). FLEX Options are a type of exchange-listed options contract with uniquely customizable terms that allow investors to customize key terms like type, strike price and expiration date that are standardized in a typical options contract. FLEX Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. It is anticipated that the Fund will invest primarily in FLEX Options. The FLEX Options held by the Fund may be either physical or cash settled.
In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying (in this case, MARA) the option at a specified exercise price. The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price (call) or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency (put). The Fund may utilize both European and American style options. An option is said to be “European Style” when it can be exercised only at expiration whereas an “American Style” option can be exercised at any time prior to expiration.
In a traditional covered call strategy, an investor (such as the Fund) sells a call option on a security it already owns. However, the Fund will derive its exposure to MARA through the use of options contracts that use MARA as the reference asset. It is this distinction that causes the Fund’s strategy to be properly termed as a “synthetic covered call strategy,” as opposed to a traditional covered call strategy, because the Fund primarily has synthetic exposure to MARA. The Fund’s synthetic exposure to MARA is achieved through the combination of purchasing call options and selling put options generally at the same strike price, which synthetically creates the upside and downside participation in the price returns of MARA. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to increases in value experienced by MARA through the purchase of call options. As a buyer of these options, the Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by MARA through the sale of put options. As the seller of these options, the Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of MARA both on the upside and downside. The Fund intends to continuously maintain exposure to MARA through the use of options. When such options expire or are exercised, the Fund will enter into new options. This is a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in higher levels of portfolio turnover.
59
As the primary means by which the Fund intends to generate income, the Fund will sell call options that reference MARA at a strike price that is expected to be approximately between 0% and 15% above the then-current share price of MARA. It is important to note that the sale of these call options to generate income will limit the Fund’s ability to participate in increases in value of MARA’s share price beyond a certain point. If the share price of MARA increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if MARA’s share price appreciates in value beyond the strike price of one or more of the call option contracts that the Fund has sold to generate income, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to MARA and the sold MARA call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains of MARA’s share price beyond a certain point. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the potential upside price return growth of MARA into current income. Such income may be less than the upside return of MARA. It is expected that the call options the Fund will sell to generate options premiums will generally have expirations of approximately one year or less and will be held to or close to expiration.
In addition to the options contracts, the Fund will also invest in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, which will serve to collateralize the Fund’s options positions and provide additional income. The market value of the cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options package is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to MARA equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
It is critical that investors understand the following:
| 1. | An investment in the Fund is not an investment in MARA. |
| 2. | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if shares of MARA decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| 3. | The Fund does not invest directly in shares of MARA. |
| 4. | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any MARA dividends. |
60
Additional Information About MARA
MARA Holdings, Inc., formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc., is a digital asset technology company specializing in cryptocurrency mining, particularly within the Bitcoin ecosystem. MARA is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by MARA Holdings, Inc. pursuant to the Exchange Act, including financial reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding MARA Holdings, Inc., can be located by reference to the Securities and Exchange Commission file number 001-36555 through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding MARA Holdings, Inc. may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents. MARA has substantial holdings of bitcoin and other digital assets. Such holdings are not only highly volatile, but highly speculative.
The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding MARA Holdings, Inc. from the publicly available documents described above. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, nor any affiliate has participated in the preparation of such documents. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, nor any affiliate makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding MARA Holdings, Inc. is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date of the prospectus (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of MARA have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of, or failure to disclose, material future events concerning MARA Holdings, Inc. could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to MARA and therefore the value of the Fund. Lastly, neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, nor any of their respective affiliates, make any representations to investors as to the performance of MARA.
Principal Risks
As
with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund.
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates, disruptions to trade, impositions of tariffs and perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of Fund Shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, Fund Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on Fund Shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
61
Covered Call Strategy Risk. A covered call strategy involves writing (selling) covered call options in return for the receipt of premiums. The seller of the option gives up the opportunity to benefit from price increases in the underlying instrument above the exercise price of the options but continues to bear the risk of underlying instrument price declines. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from underlying instrument price declines over time. As a result, the risks associated with writing covered call options may be similar to the risks associated with writing put options. Exchanges may suspend the trading of options during periods of abnormal market volatility. Suspension of trading may mean that an option seller is unable to sell options at a time that may be desirable or advantageous to do so.
The covered call strategy utilized by the Fund is “synthetic” because the Fund’s exposure to the price return of MARA is derived through options exposure, rather than direct holdings of the shares of MARA. Because such exposure is synthetic, it is possible that the Fund’s participation in the price return of MARA may not be as precise as if the Fund were directly holding shares of MARA.
MARA Investing Risks. The Fund will have significant exposure to MARA through its investments in options contracts that utilize MARA as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of MARA, set forth below.
MARA-Issuer Specific Risks. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, MARA faces risks associated with companies in the financials sector, as well as those relating to the “digital asset industry ecosystem.” In particular, MARA faces unique risks in connection with its bitcoin mining activities. The technology and hardware used in bitcoin mining is subject to malfunction, technological obsolescence, the global supply chain and difficulty and cost in obtaining new hardware. Bitcoin miners are subject to malfunctions and normal wear and tear, and, at any point in time, a certain number of bitcoin miners are typically offline for maintenance or repair. The physical degradation of miners will require replacement of miners that are no longer functional. If there is a model-wide component malfunction whether in the hardware or the software that powers these miners, the percentage of offline miners could increase substantially, disrupting mining operations. Any major bitcoin miner malfunction out of the typical range of downtime for normal maintenance and repair could cause significant economic damage. Additionally, as technology evolves, there may be a need to acquire newer models of miners to remain competitive in the market. New miners can be costly and may be in short supply. Given the long production period to manufacture and assemble bitcoin miners and the current global semiconductor chip shortage, there can be no assurance that miners can acquire enough bitcoin mining computers or replacement parts on a cost-effective basis for the maintenance and expansion necessary for efficient bitcoin mining operations. Many engaged in mining rely on third parties, principally located in China, to supply bitcoin miners and shortages of bitcoin miners or their component parts, material increases in bitcoin miner costs, or delays in delivery of orders, including due to trade restrictions and supply chain disruptions, could significantly interrupt plans for expanding bitcoin mining capacity in the near term and future. Shortages of bitcoin mining computers could result in reduced bitcoin mining capacity and increased operating costs, which could materially delay the completion of any planned bitcoin mining capacity expansion and result in a competitive disadvantage.
62
Global bitcoin supply, which is influenced by similar factors as global bitcoin demand, in addition to fiat currency (i.e., government currency not backed by an asset such as gold), may be affected by miners and taxpayers who may liquidate bitcoin holdings to meet tax obligations. In addition, the dedication of mining power to the Bitcoin network and the willingness of bitcoin miners to clear bitcoin transactions for relatively low fees may impact the supply and price.
Miners may cease expanding processing power to create blocks and verify transactions if they are not adequately compensated. Miners generate revenue from both newly created bitcoin (known as the “block reward”) and from fees taken upon verification of transactions. If the aggregate revenue from transaction fees and the block reward is below a miner’s cost, the miner may cease operations. An acute cessation of mining operations would reduce the collective processing power on the Bitcoin blockchain, which would adversely affect the transaction verification process by temporarily decreasing the speed at which blocks are added to the Bitcoin blockchain and make the Bitcoin blockchain more vulnerable to a malicious actor obtaining control in excess of 50 percent of the processing power on the Bitcoin blockchain. Reductions in processing power could result in material, though temporary, delays in transaction confirmation time. Any reduction in confidence in the transaction verification process or mining processing power may adversely impact the price of bitcoin. Furthermore, the block reward will decrease over time. In the summer of 2024, the block reward was reduced from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoin, and it will further reduce to 1.5625 bitcoin in 2028. As the block reward continues to decrease over time, the mining incentive structure will transition to a higher reliance on transaction verification fees in order to incentivize miners to continue to dedicate processing power to the Bitcoin blockchain. If transaction verification fees become too high, the marketplace may be reluctant to use bitcoin. Decreased demand for bitcoin may adversely affect its price, which may adversely affect MARA.
Bitcoin mining activities are inherently energy intensive and electricity costs account for a significant portion of the overall mining costs. The availability and cost of electricity will restrict the geographic locations of mining activities. High costs of electricity may incentivize miners to redirect their resources to other validation protocols, such a proof-of-stake blockchains, or abandon their validation activities entirely. A significant decrease in the computational resources dedicated to the Bitcoin network’s validation protocol could reduce the security of the network which may erode bitcoin’s viability as a store of value or means of exchange. In addition, the significant consumption of electricity may have a negative environmental impact, including contribution to climate change, which may give rise to public opinion against allowing the use of electricity for bitcoin mining activities or government measures restricting or prohibiting the use of electricity for bitcoin mining activities. Any such developments could lower the demand for bitcoin and have a material and adverse effect on the price of bitcoin.
Concerns have been raised about the electricity required to secure and maintain digital asset networks. For example, as of December 1, 2024, over 800 million terahashes were performed every second in connection with mining on the Bitcoin network. Although measuring the electricity consumed by this process is difficult because these operations are performed by various machines with varying levels of efficiency, the process consumes a significant amount of energy. Further, in addition to the direct energy costs of performing calculations on any given digital asset network, there are indirect costs that impact a network’s total energy consumption, including the costs of cooling the machines that perform these calculations.
63
Driven by concerns around energy consumption and the impact on public utility companies, various states and cities have implemented, or are considering implementing, moratoriums on mining activity in their jurisdictions. For example, in November 2022, New York imposed a two-year moratorium on new proof-of-work mining permits at fossil fuel plants in the state. A significant reduction in mining activity as a result of such actions could adversely affect the security of the Bitcoin network by making it easier for a malicious actor or botnet to manipulate the Bitcoin network. If regulators or public utilities take action that restricts or otherwise impacts mining activities, such actions could result in decreased security of a digital asset network, including the Bitcoin network, and consequently adversely impact the value of MARA.
Besides the risks associated with bitcoin mining in particular, MARA is subject to the risks associated with the digital asset industry ecosystem in general. The technology relating to the digital asset industry ecosystem is new and developing and the risks associated with digital assets may not fully emerge until the technology is widely used. Technologies utilizing cryptography are used by companies to optimize their business practices, whether by using the technology within their business or operating business lines involved in the operation of the technology. Cryptography refers to a set of techniques designed to allow for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. Blockchain is a well-known example of a technology that relies on cryptography. A blockchain is comprised of unchangeable, digitally recorded data in packages called “blocks.” These digitally recorded blocks of data are stored in a linear “chain.” Each block in the chain contains data (e.g., a transaction), that is cryptographically connected to the previous block in the chain, ensuring all data in the overall “blockchain” has not been tampered with and remains unchanged. The cryptographic keys necessary to transact a digital asset may be subject to theft, loss, or destruction, which could adversely affect a company’s business or operations if it were dependent on such an asset. Competing platforms and technologies may be developed such that consumers or investors use an alternative to digital assets. There may be risks posed by the lack of regulation for digital assets and any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of crypto technologies. Recently, U.S. securities regulators have brought actions against companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem for violations of U.S. securities laws. To the extent such an action is brought against a company held by the Fund, the value of such a holding could decrease significantly. Because companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem may operate across many national boundaries and regulatory jurisdictions, it is possible that such companies may be subject to widespread and inconsistent regulation. Companies operating in the digital asset industry ecosystem that rely on third party products may be subject to technical defects or vulnerabilities beyond a company’s control. Because many digital assets do not have a standardized exchange, like a stock market, there is less liquidity for such assets and greater possibility of volatility, fraud or manipulation. In addition, these companies may engage in other lines of business unrelated to the crypto industry ecosystem, and these lines of business could adversely affect their operating results. Such companies may be engaged in activities traditionally comprising the information technology sector and financials sector. These companies also may not be able to develop crypto technology applications or may not be able to capitalize on those applications. Technologies may also never be fully implemented, which could adversely affect an investment in such companies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to cybersecurity risk. In addition, certain features of crypto industry technologies, such as decentralization, open source protocol, and reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, may increase the risk of fraud or cyber-attack by potentially reducing the likelihood of a coordinated response. A significant disruption of internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of crypto technologies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to the risks posed by conflicting intellectual property claims, which may reduce confidence in the viability of a digital asset.
64
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Indirect Investment Risk. MARA Holdings, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of MARA and make no representation as to the performance of MARA. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in MARA. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to MARA.
Information Technology Companies Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Like other technology companies, information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments, frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Information technology companies are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk. Large capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
65
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
Digital Assets Risk. MARA may have substantial holdings of bitcoin and other digital assets. Accordingly, it is subject to the risks associated with such holdings as set forth below.
Bitcoin Risk. Bitcoin remains a volatile and evolving asset subject to significant market fluctuations, uncertainty, and speculative investment interest. Although institutional participation, the development of regulated investment products, and broader market infrastructure have increased in recent years, the value of bitcoin continues to be influenced substantially by market sentiment, speculative demand, liquidity conditions and macroeconomic factors rather than traditional fundamental analysis. The further development and sustained acceptance of the Bitcoin network are dependent on a variety of complex factors, including technological developments, regulatory treatment, institutional participation, and broader public adoption. While regulatory oversight of bitcoin and digital asset markets has increased in certain jurisdictions, including the United States and Europe, the global regulatory environment remains fragmented and subject to change. Regulatory developments may include new legislation, enforcement actions against digital asset market participants, trading restrictions, taxation policies or changes in regulatory classification. Any such actions could materially affect the value, liquidity, or market structure of bitcoin. Bitcoin markets remain susceptible to fraud, market manipulation, theft, cybersecurity incidents and operational disruptions. Trading may occur on digital asset trading platforms that are not subject to the same regulatory oversight as traditional securities exchanges. Failures of market participants such as exchanges, custodians, lenders, or other intermediaries could negatively affect market confidence and liquidity. In addition, a significant concentration of bitcoin holdings among a relatively small number of holders may increase the risk that large transactions or coordinated trading activity could cause substantial price volatility. Technological risks remain inherent in bitcoin and the Bitcoin network. Although technological developments, including scaling technologies such as the Lightning Network, have sought to improve transaction efficiency and network usability, these technologies remain relatively new and may contain technical vulnerabilities, security risks, or operational limitations. Technical failures, software bugs, cyber attacks, or other disruptions could undermine confidence in the Bitcoin network and adversely affect the price of bitcoin. The potential for blockchain forks also continues to exist. Forks may occur when developers and network participants disagree regarding changes to the Bitcoin protocol. Such events could result in competing blockchain networks, market confusion, or dilution of value associated with bitcoin. Competition from alternative digital assets and blockchain networks remains significant. Other digital assets may offer technological features or use cases that differ from or improve upon those associated with bitcoin. Increased adoption of competing digital assets or payment systems could reduce demand for bitcoin and negatively affect its market value. Any of these risks, individually or collectively, could materially and adversely affect the acceptance and market value of bitcoin.
66
Custody Risk. Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in relation to digital assets. The bitcoin held by MARA will likely be an appealing target to hackers or malware distributors seeking to destroy, damage or steal MARA’s bitcoin. To the extent that MARA is unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats or otherwise adapt to technological changes in the digital asset industry, MARA’s bitcoin may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack. MARA has put security procedures in place to prevent such theft, loss or destruction, including but not limited to, offline storage, or cold storage, multiple encrypted private key “shards,” and other measures. Nevertheless, the security procedures cannot guarantee the prevention of any loss due to a security breach, software defect or act of God that may be borne by MARA, and the security procedures may not protect against all errors, software flaws or other vulnerabilities in MARA’s technical infrastructure, which could result in theft, loss or damage of its assets. Assets not held in cold storage, such as assets held in a trading account, may be more vulnerable to security breach, hacking or loss than assets held in cold storage. Furthermore, assets held in a trading account are held on an omnibus rather than segregated basis, which creates greater risk of loss. The security procedures and operational infrastructure may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, error or malfeasance of a MARA employee, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to MARA accounts in which its bitcoin is held, the relevant private keys (and therefore bitcoin) or other data or property of MARA. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees of MARA to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to MARA’s infrastructure. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems change frequently or may be designed to remain dormant until a predetermined event and often are not recognized until launched against a target, MARA may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures.
Digital Asset Market and Volatility Risk. The prices of digital assets, to which MARA has significant exposure, have historically been highly volatile. The value of such assets has been, and may continue to be, substantially dependent on speculation, such that trading and investing in these assets generally may not be based on fundamental analysis. The value of the Fund’s investments in instruments that provide exposure to MARA – and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund – could decline significantly and without warning. If you are not prepared to accept significant and unexpected changes in the value of the Fund, you should not invest in the Fund.
Digital Asset Regulatory Risk. There is a lack of consensus regarding the regulation of digital assets, including bitcoin, and their markets. As a result of the growth in the size of the digital asset market, as well as recent events in the digital asset market, the U.S. Congress and a number of U.S. federal and state agencies (including FinCEN, SEC, OCC, CFTC, FINRA, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, state financial institution regulators, and others) have been examining the operations of digital asset networks, digital asset users and the digital asset markets. Many of these state and federal agencies have brought enforcement actions or issued consumer advisories regarding the risks posed by digital assets to investors. Ongoing and future regulatory actions with respect to digital assets generally or bitcoin in particular may alter, perhaps to a materially adverse extent, the nature of an investment in the shares of MARA or the ability of MARA to continue to operate.
67
Digital Asset Trading Platforms Risk. Digital asset platforms are relatively new and, in some cases, unregulated. Many operate outside the United States. Furthermore, while many prominent digital asset platforms provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices and regulatory compliance, many digital asset platforms do not provide this information. Digital asset platforms may not be subject to, or may not comply with, regulation in a similar manner as other regulated trading platforms, such as national securities exchanges or designated contract markets. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in digital asset platforms, including prominent platforms that handle a significant volume of bitcoin trading. Many digital asset platforms are unlicensed, may be unregulated, may be subject to regulation in a relevant jurisdiction, but may or may not be in compliance therewith, may operate without extensive supervision by governmental authorities, and may not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management team, corporate practices, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. In particular, those located outside the United States may be subject to significantly less stringent regulatory and compliance requirements in their local jurisdictions and may take the position that they are not subject to laws and regulations that would apply to a national securities exchange or designated contract market in the United States, or may, as a practical matter, be beyond the ambit of U.S. regulators. In addition, over the past several years, some digital asset platforms have been closed due to fraud and manipulative activity, business failure, or security breaches. In many of these instances, the customers of such digital asset platforms were not compensated or made whole for the partial or complete losses of their account balances in such digital asset platforms. While, generally speaking, smaller digital asset platforms are less likely to have the infrastructure and capitalization that make larger digital asset platforms more stable, larger digital asset platforms are more likely to be appealing targets for hackers and malware, and their shortcomings or ultimate failures are more likely to have contagion effects on the digital asset ecosystem and, therefore, may be more likely targets of regulatory enforcement action. Negative perception, a lack of stability and standardized regulation in the digital asset markets and the closure or temporary shutdown of digital asset platforms due to fraud, business failure, security breaches or government-mandated regulation and associated losses by customers may reduce confidence in the Bitcoin network and result in greater volatility or decreases in the prices of bitcoin.
Irrevocability of Transactions Risk. Digital asset transactions are typically not reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to the blockchain, an incorrect transfer or theft of bitcoin generally will not be reversible, and MARA may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, MARA’s bitcoin could be transferred from its account in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts. Such events have occurred in connection with digital assets in the past. For example, in September 2014, the Chinese digital asset platform Huobi announced that it had sent approximately 900 bitcoin and 8,000 Litecoin (worth approximately $400,000 at the prevailing market prices at the time) to the wrong customers. To the extent that MARA is unable to seek a corrective transaction with such third-party or is incapable of identifying the third-party which has received MARA’s bitcoin through error or theft, MARA will be unable to revert or otherwise recover incorrectly transferred bitcoin. MARA will also be unable to convert or recover its bitcoin transferred to uncontrolled accounts. To the extent that MARA is unable to seek redress for such error or theft, such loss could adversely affect the value of its shares.
68
Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.
Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including the options held by the Fund, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearinghouse, such as the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearinghouses, and only members of a clearinghouse (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearinghouse, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. With regard to its cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to, and receive payments from, a clearinghouse through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any option contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not associated with any of the clearing member’s individual customers by name. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for its options position may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearinghouse, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. The loss of a clearing member for the Fund to transact with could result in increased transaction costs and other operational issues that could impede the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
Concentration Risk. The Fund is susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in investments that provide exposure to MARA and the industry group to which it is assigned. As of March 1, 2026, MARA is assigned to the “software & services” industry group of the information technology sector. Please see “Information Technology Companies Risk” for a discussion regarding the risks of an investment in such companies.
69
Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. Global financial markets have experienced periods of elevated volatility driven by geopolitical conflict, changing monetary policy, regulatory developments and trade policy uncertainty, each of which may affect asset prices and market liquidity. Monetary policy remains uncertain and central banks may raise or lower interest rates depending on economic conditions, inflation trends, and financial stability considerations. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect financial markets, liquidity and the value of certain investments held by the Fund. U.S. regulators have proposed and adopted several changes to market and issuer regulations that may directly or indirectly affect the Fund and its investments. Any regulatory changes, including those relating to securities markets, derivatives markets, digital assets, market structure or disclosure requirements could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. The political and regulatory environment in the United States remains subject to change. Political developments, legislative activity, regulatory priorities and policy decisions may affect the regulatory landscape, financial markets and investor behavior. Changes in fiscal, tax, immigration, trade or other government policies may affect economic conditions and securities markets generally. Trade policy developments may also adversely affect financial markets and economic conditions. The United States has implemented and proposed tariffs and other trade restrictions affecting various trading partners, and foreign governments have implemented or may implement retaliatory trade measures. Trade policy uncertainty, including uncertainty regarding the scope, duration, and legal authority for tariffs or other trade restrictions, may disrupt global supply chains, reduce international trade, increase costs for businesses and consumers and contribute to market volatility. Geopolitical conflicts may also adversely affect global markets. Ongoing hostilities and military actions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other parties in the Middle East have heightened the risk of broader regional instability and have contributed to volatility in energy markets and global financial markets. Escalation of these or other regional conflicts could disrupt energy supplies, shipping routes, and global supply chains. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to contribute to geopolitical risk and may affect global markets, particularly commodities and energy markets. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as financial markets generally, may also be adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions or disputes. For example, tensions between the United States and China remain ongoing, including disputes relating to trade, technology, and national security. In addition, the Chinese government continues to assert territorial claims involving Taiwan. If geopolitical tensions involving China, Taiwan, or other regions escalate, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets, and individual securities may be adversely affected and the value of the Fund’s assets may decline. Technological developments may also significantly affect markets and the performance of the Fund. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure may transform industries, alter labor markets, and lead to new regulatory frameworks. In addition, cybersecurity incidents involving government entities, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, or other participants could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, and negatively impact financial markets or the Fund’s service providers. These events, and other unforeseen developments, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks due to breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks due to efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or the issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
70
Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) the risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
FLEX Options Risk. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience losses from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund’s FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund Shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of Fund Shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection could reduce the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.
71
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. This risk is more prevalent with respect to fixed income securities held by the Fund.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
Leverage Risk. While the Fund does not seek leveraged exposure to MARA, the Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of MARA by using the leverage inherent in options contracts. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Options trading involves a degree of leverage and, as a result, a relatively small price movement in futures instruments may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The market for options on MARA may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. Such large positions also may impact the price of options on MARA.
Non-Diversification
Risk.
72
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error; processing and communication errors; errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties; failed or inadequate processes; and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund’s portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund’s ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may experience high levels of portfolio turnover. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Special Tax Risk. The Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” or “RIC.” If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the FLEX Options as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Fund intends to treat the issuer of the FLEX Options as the referenced asset, which may allow the Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the FLEX Options is not appropriately the referenced asset, the Fund may lose its own status as a RIC if tax positions reflected by such options are large enough.
Structural ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF. Accordingly, it is subject to certain risks associated with its unique structure.
Active Market Risk. Although Fund Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Fund Shares will develop or be maintained. Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value. Securities, including Fund Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments.
73
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs, such as the Fund, which invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently expects to effect a significant portion of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. Paying redemption proceeds in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may require the Fund to dispose of or sell portfolio securities or other assets at an inopportune time to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher or lower annual capital gains distributions than ETFs that redeem in-kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause Fund Shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
Costs of Buying and Selling Fund Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Fund Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Fund Shares may significantly reduce investment results, and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Premium/Discount Risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
74
Management
Investment Adviser: Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC
Portfolio Managers: Jennifer Thornton, Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM, and Daniela Padilla, Portfolio Manager at BIM, are the individuals that are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each has served as portfolio manager since the Fund’s inception in April 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the Exchange, other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.imraetf.com.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
75
The
Fund’s primary investment objective is to provide current income.
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
| Management Fees | |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | |
| Other Expenses | |
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
| $ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
The
Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund
Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the period April 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December
31, 2025, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide current income while providing exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of MSTR, subject to a limit on potential investment gains. The Fund seeks to achieve these investment objectives through the use of a synthetic covered call strategy. The Fund seeks to provide its synthetic exposure to the price return of MSTR through the purchase and sale of a combination of call and put option contracts that utilize MSTR as the reference asset. The Fund will also sell call options that utilize MSTR as the reference asset to generate income in the form of option premiums, but will also limit the degree to which the Fund will participate in investment gains experienced by MSTR.
76
In implementing its investment strategy, the Fund will invest in traditional exchange-traded options contracts and/or FLexible EXchange® options (“FLEX Options”) that utilize MSTR as the reference asset. The Fund will only invest in options contracts that are listed for trading on regulated U.S. exchanges. Traditional exchange-traded options have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price and expiration date. Exchange-listed options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). FLEX Options are a type of exchange-listed options contract with uniquely customizable terms that allow investors to customize key terms like type, strike price and expiration date that are standardized in a typical options contract. FLEX Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. It is anticipated that the Fund will invest primarily in FLEX Options. The FLEX Options held by the Fund may be either physical or cash settled.
In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying (in this case, MSTR) the option at a specified exercise price. The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price (call) or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency (put). The Fund may utilize both European and American style options. An option is said to be “European Style” when it can be exercised only at expiration whereas an “American Style” option can be exercised at any time prior to expiration.
In a traditional covered call strategy, an investor (such as the Fund) sells a call option on a security it already owns. However, the Fund will derive its exposure to MSTR through the use of options contracts that use MSTR as the reference asset. It is this distinction that causes the Fund’s strategy to be properly termed as a “synthetic covered call strategy,” as opposed to a traditional covered call strategy, because the Fund primarily has synthetic exposure to MSTR. The Fund’s synthetic exposure to MSTR is achieved through the combination of purchasing call options and selling put options generally at the same strike price, which synthetically creates the upside and downside participation in the price returns of MSTR. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to increases in value experienced by MSTR through the purchase of call options. As a buyer of these options, the Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. The Fund will primarily gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by MSTR through the sale of put options. As the seller of these options, the Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of MSTR both on the upside and downside. The Fund intends to continuously maintain exposure to MSTR through the use of options. When such options expire or are exercised, the Fund will enter into new options. This is a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Fund’s practice of rolling options may result in higher levels of portfolio turnover.
77
As the primary means by which the Fund intends to generate income, the Fund will sell call options that reference MSTR at a strike price that is expected to be approximately between 0% and 15% above the then-current share price of MSTR. It is important to note that the sale of these call options to generate income will limit the Fund’s ability to participate in increases in value of MSTR’s share price beyond a certain point. If the share price of MSTR increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure would allow the Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if MSTR’s share price appreciates in value beyond the strike price of one or more of the call option contracts that the Fund has sold to generate income, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to MSTR and the sold MSTR call positions) will limit the Fund’s participation in gains of MSTR’s share price beyond a certain point. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the potential upside price return growth of MSTR into current income. Such income may be less than the upside return of MSTR. It is expected that the call options the Fund will sell to generate options premiums will generally have expirations of approximately one year or less and will be held to or close to expiration.
In addition to the options contracts, the Fund will also invest in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, which will serve to collateralize the Fund’s options positions and provide additional income. The market value of the cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities held by the Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options package is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to MSTR equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
It is critical that investors understand the following:
| 1. | An investment in the Fund is not an investment in MSTR. |
| 2. | The Fund’s strategy is subject to all potential losses if shares of MSTR decrease in value, which may not be offset by income received by the Fund. |
| 3. | The Fund does not invest directly in shares of MSTR. |
| 4. | Fund shareholders are not entitled to any MSTR dividends. |
78
Additional Information About MSTR
Strategy Inc develops enterprise analytics software solutions. It is also an operating company committed to the continued development of the Bitcoin network through its activities in the financial markets, advocacy and technology innovation. A primary source of MSTR’s value is the amount of bitcoin it holds. MSTR is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Strategy Inc pursuant to the Exchange Act, including financial reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding Strategy Inc can be located by reference to the Securities and Exchange Commission file number 001-42509 through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding Strategy Inc may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding Strategy Inc from the publicly available documents described above. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any affiliate has participated in the preparation of such documents. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any affiliate makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding Strategy Inc is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date of the prospectus (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of MSTR have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of, or failure to disclose, material future events concerning Strategy Inc could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to MSTR and therefore the value of the Fund. Lastly, neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any of their respective affiliates, make any representations to investors as to the performance of MSTR.
Principal Risks
As
with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund.
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates, disruptions to trade, impositions of tariffs and perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of Fund Shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, Fund Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on Fund Shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
79
Covered Call Strategy Risk. A covered call strategy involves writing (selling) covered call options in return for the receipt of premiums. The seller of the option gives up the opportunity to benefit from price increases in the underlying instrument above the exercise price of the options but continues to bear the risk of underlying instrument price declines. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from underlying instrument price declines over time. As a result, the risks associated with writing covered call options may be similar to the risks associated with writing put options. Exchanges may suspend the trading of options during periods of abnormal market volatility. Suspension of trading may mean that an option seller is unable to sell options at a time that may be desirable or advantageous to do so.
The covered call strategy utilized by the Fund is “synthetic” because the Fund’s exposure to the price return of MSTR is derived through options exposure, rather than direct holdings of the shares of MSTR. Because such exposure is synthetic, it is possible that the Fund’s participation in the price return of MSTR may not be as precise as if the Fund were directly holding shares of MSTR.
MSTR Investing Risks. The Fund will have significant exposure to MSTR through its investments in options contracts that utilize MSTR as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of MSTR, set forth below.
MSTR-Issuer Specific Risks. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, in addition to the risks associated with companies in the technology sector, MSTR faces risks related to its bitcoin acquisition strategy, including: the various risks associated with bitcoin; the risks associated with bitcoin being a highly volatile asset; the risk that the company’s historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that the company may experience in the future relating to its bitcoin holdings; the risk that the availability of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products may adversely affect the market price of MSTR; the risk of enhanced regulatory oversight; concentration risk; liquidity risk; and counterparty risk, particularly with respect to custodians. MSTR also faces risks related to its enterprise analytics software business strategy, including: risks relating to its dependence on revenue from a single software platform and related services as well as revenue from its installed customer base; the risk that as customers increasingly shift from a product license model to a cloud subscription model, the company could face higher future rates of attrition, and such a shift could continue to affect the timing of revenue recognition or reduce product licenses and product support revenues, which could materially adversely affect the company’s operating results; the risk that if the company is unable to develop and release new software product offerings or enhancements to its existing offerings in a timely and cost-effective manner, the company’s business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected; and the risk the company’s software may be susceptible to undetected errors, bugs, or security vulnerabilities, which could cause problems with how the software performs and, in turn, reduce demand for the company’s software, reduce its revenue, and lead to litigation claims against the company.
80
Bitcoin Treasury Companies Risk. MSTR is a type of company known as a “bitcoin treasury company.” These are company hold substantial quantities of bitcoin as a primary component of their corporate strategy. Such companies may hold bitcoin as a reserve asset on their balance sheets or may raise capital through equity or debt offerings for the purpose of acquiring additional bitcoin. The market value of securities issued by bitcoin treasury companies may be highly correlated with, and in certain circumstances more volatile than, the price of bitcoin itself. Bitcoin has historically experienced extreme price volatility, and significant declines in the price of bitcoin may materially and adversely affect the financial condition, operating results, and market valuation of bitcoin treasury companies. In some cases, bitcoin holdings may represent a significant portion of a company’s assets or market capitalization, meaning that fluctuations in bitcoin prices may have a disproportionate effect on the value of such companies’ equity securities. In addition, bitcoin treasury companies may use capital markets transactions, including the issuance of equity securities, convertible debt, or preferred securities, to finance the acquisition of additional bitcoin. These financing strategies may increase financial leverage, create dilution for existing shareholders, and amplify the impact of bitcoin price movements on a company’s financial condition and stock price. During periods of declining bitcoin prices or reduced investor appetite for digital asset exposure, such companies may have difficulty raising capital on favorable terms or may be forced to curtail or unwind their bitcoin acquisition strategies. Because the perceived value of certain bitcoin treasury companies has at times traded at a premium to the value of their underlying bitcoin holdings, declines in bitcoin prices or shifts in investor sentiment toward digital assets may also cause such premiums to compress or reverse, which could lead to rapid and significant declines in the market prices of their securities. During periods of declining bitcoin prices, as was seen in 2025 and 2026, the equity securities of certain bitcoin treasury companies declined significantly more than the price of bitcoin itself, reflecting the leveraged nature of their business models and investor expectations embedded in their valuations. In certain instances, bitcoin treasury companies saw their market valuations fall below the value of the bitcoin such companies held. Bitcoin treasury companies also face accounting, liquidity, and balance sheet risks associated with holding digital assets. Under certain accounting frameworks, bitcoin has historically been treated as an intangible asset and may require impairment charges when its market value falls below the acquisition cost, even if the company does not sell the bitcoin. Such impairment charges can result in significant reported losses and increased volatility in financial statements. In addition, a substantial allocation of corporate assets to bitcoin may reduce a company’s liquidity and limit its ability to deploy capital for operating needs, strategic acquisitions, or other corporate purposes. These factors may make bitcoin treasury companies more financially exposed to cryptocurrency market cycles than companies with more traditional treasury management strategies. Furthermore, the business models of bitcoin treasury companies may become increasingly dependent on continued investor confidence in their ability to accumulate and hold bitcoin over time. A prolonged decline in bitcoin prices, reduced access to capital markets, or a loss of investor confidence in the strategy of holding bitcoin as a corporate reserve asset could adversely affect the financial condition of such companies and, in extreme circumstances, could result in forced sales of bitcoin or other assets. The growing number of companies adopting bitcoin treasury strategies may also create feedback loops between equity markets and digital asset markets, potentially increasing volatility and creating the risk of cascading declines during periods of market stress.
81
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Indirect Investment Risk. Strategy Inc is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of MSTR and make no representation as to the performance of MSTR. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in MSTR. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to MSTR.
Information Technology Companies Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Like other technology companies, information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments, frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Information technology companies are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk. Large capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
82
Digital Assets Risk. MSTR has substantial holdings of bitcoin. Accordingly, it is subject to the risks associated with such holdings as set forth below.
Bitcoin Risk. Bitcoin remains a volatile and evolving asset subject to significant market fluctuations, uncertainty, and speculative investment interest. Although institutional participation, the development of regulated investment products, and broader market infrastructure have increased in recent years, the value of bitcoin continues to be influenced substantially by market sentiment, speculative demand, liquidity conditions and macroeconomic factors rather than traditional fundamental analysis. The further development and sustained acceptance of the Bitcoin network are dependent on a variety of complex factors, including technological developments, regulatory treatment, institutional participation, and broader public adoption. While regulatory oversight of bitcoin and digital asset markets has increased in certain jurisdictions, including the United States and Europe, the global regulatory environment remains fragmented and subject to change. Regulatory developments may include new legislation, enforcement actions against digital asset market participants, trading restrictions, taxation policies or changes in regulatory classification. Any such actions could materially affect the value, liquidity, or market structure of bitcoin. Bitcoin markets remain susceptible to fraud, market manipulation, theft, cybersecurity incidents and operational disruptions. Trading may occur on digital asset trading platforms that are not subject to the same regulatory oversight as traditional securities exchanges. Failures of market participants such as exchanges, custodians, lenders, or other intermediaries could negatively affect market confidence and liquidity. In addition, a significant concentration of bitcoin holdings among a relatively small number of holders may increase the risk that large transactions or coordinated trading activity could cause substantial price volatility. Technological risks remain inherent in bitcoin and the Bitcoin network. Although technological developments, including scaling technologies such as the Lightning Network, have sought to improve transaction efficiency and network usability, these technologies remain relatively new and may contain technical vulnerabilities, security risks, or operational limitations. Technical failures, software bugs, cyber attacks, or other disruptions could undermine confidence in the Bitcoin network and adversely affect the price of bitcoin. The potential for blockchain forks also continues to exist. Forks may occur when developers and network participants disagree regarding changes to the Bitcoin protocol. Such events could result in competing blockchain networks, market confusion, or dilution of value associated with bitcoin. Competition from alternative digital assets and blockchain networks remains significant. Other digital assets may offer technological features or use cases that differ from or improve upon those associated with bitcoin. Increased adoption of competing digital assets or payment systems could reduce demand for bitcoin and negatively affect its market value. Any of these risks, individually or collectively, could materially and adversely affect the acceptance and market value of bitcoin.
Custody Risk. Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in relation to digital assets. The bitcoin held by MSTR will likely be an appealing target to hackers or malware distributors seeking to destroy, damage or steal MSTR’s bitcoin. To the extent that MSTR is unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats or otherwise adapt to technological changes in the digital asset industry, MSTR’s bitcoin may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack. MSTR has put security procedures in place to prevent such theft, loss or destruction, including but not limited to, offline storage, or cold storage, multiple encrypted private key “shards,” and other measures. Nevertheless, the security procedures cannot guarantee the prevention of any loss due to a security breach, software defect or act of God that may be borne by MSTR, and the security procedures may not protect against all errors, software flaws or other vulnerabilities in MSTR’s technical infrastructure, which could result in theft, loss or damage of its assets. Assets not held in cold storage, such as assets held in a trading account, may be more vulnerable to security breach, hacking or loss than assets held in cold storage. Furthermore, assets held in a trading account are held on an omnibus rather than segregated basis, which creates greater risk of loss. The security procedures and operational infrastructure may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, error or malfeasance of a MSTR employee, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to MSTR accounts in which its bitcoin is held, the relevant private keys (and therefore bitcoin) or other data or property of MSTR. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees of MSTR to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to MSTR’s infrastructure. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems change frequently or may be designed to remain dormant until a predetermined event and often are not recognized until launched against a target, MSTR may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures.
83
Digital Asset Market and Volatility Risk. The prices of digital assets, to which MSTR has significant exposure, have historically been highly volatile. The value of such assets has been, and may continue to be, substantially dependent on speculation, such that trading and investing in these assets generally may not be based on fundamental analysis. The value of the Fund’s investments in instruments that provide exposure to MSTR – and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund – could decline significantly and without warning. If you are not prepared to accept significant and unexpected changes in the value of the Fund, you should not invest in the Fund.
Digital Asset Regulatory Risk. There is a lack of consensus regarding the regulation of digital assets, including bitcoin, and their markets. As a result of the growth in the size of the digital asset market, as well as recent events in the digital asset market, the U.S. Congress and a number of U.S. federal and state agencies (including FinCEN, SEC, OCC, CFTC, FINRA, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, state financial institution regulators, and others) have been examining the operations of digital asset networks, digital asset users and the digital asset markets. Many of these state and federal agencies have brought enforcement actions or issued consumer advisories regarding the risks posed by digital assets to investors. Ongoing and future regulatory actions with respect to digital assets generally or bitcoin in particular may alter, perhaps to a materially adverse extent, the nature of an investment in the shares of MSTR.
Irrevocability of Transactions Risk. Digital asset transactions are typically not reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to the blockchain, an incorrect transfer or theft of bitcoin generally will not be reversible, and MSTR may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, MSTR’s bitcoin could be transferred from its account in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts. Such events have occurred in connection with digital assets in the past. For example, in September 2014, the Chinese digital asset platform Huobi announced that it had sent approximately 900 bitcoin and 8,000 Litecoin (worth approximately $400,000 at the prevailing market prices at the time) to the wrong customers. To the extent that MSTR is unable to seek a corrective transaction with such third-party or is incapable of identifying the third-party which has received MSTR’s bitcoin through error or theft, MSTR will be unable to revert or otherwise recover incorrectly transferred bitcoin. MSTR will also be unable to convert or recover its bitcoin transferred to uncontrolled accounts. To the extent that MSTR is unable to seek redress for such error or theft, such loss could adversely affect the value of its shares.
84
Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about the Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by the Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.
Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including the options held by the Fund, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearinghouse, such as the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearinghouses, and only members of a clearinghouse (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearinghouse, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. With regard to its cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to, and receive payments from, a clearinghouse through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any option contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not associated with any of the clearing member’s individual customers by name. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for its options position may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearinghouse, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. The loss of a clearing member for the Fund to transact with could result in increased transaction costs and other operational issues that could impede the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
Concentration Risk. The Fund is susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in investments that provide exposure to MSTR and the industry to which it is assigned. As of March 1, 2026, MSTR is assigned to the “software & services” industry group of the information technology sector. Please see “Information Technology Companies Risk” for a discussion regarding the risks of an investment in such companies.
85
Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. Global financial markets have experienced periods of elevated volatility driven by geopolitical conflict, changing monetary policy, regulatory developments and trade policy uncertainty, each of which may affect asset prices and market liquidity. Monetary policy remains uncertain and central banks may raise or lower interest rates depending on economic conditions, inflation trends, and financial stability considerations. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect financial markets, liquidity and the value of certain investments held by the Fund. U.S. regulators have proposed and adopted several changes to market and issuer regulations that may directly or indirectly affect the Fund and its investments. Any regulatory changes, including those relating to securities markets, derivatives markets, digital assets, market structure or disclosure requirements could adversely impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. The political and regulatory environment in the United States remains subject to change. Political developments, legislative activity, regulatory priorities and policy decisions may affect the regulatory landscape, financial markets and investor behavior. Changes in fiscal, tax, immigration, trade or other government policies may affect economic conditions and securities markets generally. Trade policy developments may also adversely affect financial markets and economic conditions. The United States has implemented and proposed tariffs and other trade restrictions affecting various trading partners, and foreign governments have implemented or may implement retaliatory trade measures. Trade policy uncertainty, including uncertainty regarding the scope, duration, and legal authority for tariffs or other trade restrictions, may disrupt global supply chains, reduce international trade, increase costs for businesses and consumers and contribute to market volatility. Geopolitical conflicts may also adversely affect global markets. Ongoing hostilities and military actions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other parties in the Middle East have heightened the risk of broader regional instability and have contributed to volatility in energy markets and global financial markets. Escalation of these or other regional conflicts could disrupt energy supplies, shipping routes, and global supply chains. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to contribute to geopolitical risk and may affect global markets, particularly commodities and energy markets. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as financial markets generally, may also be adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions or disputes. For example, tensions between the United States and China remain ongoing, including disputes relating to trade, technology, and national security. In addition, the Chinese government continues to assert territorial claims involving Taiwan. If geopolitical tensions involving China, Taiwan, or other regions escalate, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets, and individual securities may be adversely affected and the value of the Fund’s assets may decline. Technological developments may also significantly affect markets and the performance of the Fund. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure may transform industries, alter labor markets, and lead to new regulatory frameworks. In addition, cybersecurity incidents involving government entities, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, or other participants could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, and negatively impact financial markets or the Fund’s service providers. These events, and other unforeseen developments, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks due to breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks due to efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or the issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
86
Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) the risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
FLEX Options Risk. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. The Fund may experience losses from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of the Fund’s FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund Shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of the Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of Fund Shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, the Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection could reduce the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.
87
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. This risk is more prevalent with respect to fixed income securities held by the Fund.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
Leverage Risk. While the Fund does not seek leveraged exposure to MSTR, the Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of MSTR by using the leverage inherent in options contracts. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. When the Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in the Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to the Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause the Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Options trading involves a degree of leverage and, as a result, a relatively small price movement in futures instruments may result in immediate and substantial losses to the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The market for options on MSTR may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. Such large positions also may impact the price of options on MSTR.
Non-Diversification
Risk.
88
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error; processing and communication errors; errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties; failed or inadequate processes; and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of the Fund’s portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of options also depends on the Fund’s ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may experience high levels of portfolio turnover. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Special Tax Risk. The Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” or “RIC.” If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the FLEX Options as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Fund intends to treat the issuer of the FLEX Options as the referenced asset, which may allow the Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the FLEX Options is not appropriately the referenced asset, the Fund may lose its own status as a RIC if tax positions reflected by such options are large enough.
Structural ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF. Accordingly, it is subject to certain risks associated with its unique structure.
Active Market Risk. Although Fund Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Fund Shares will develop or be maintained. Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value. Securities, including Fund Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments.
89
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs, such as the Fund, which invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently expects to effect a significant portion of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. Paying redemption proceeds in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may require the Fund to dispose of or sell portfolio securities or other assets at an inopportune time to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher or lower annual capital gains distributions than ETFs that redeem in-kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause Fund Shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
Costs of Buying and Selling Fund Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Fund Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Fund Shares may significantly reduce investment results, and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Premium/Discount Risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
Valuation Risk. The Fund may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
90
Management
Investment Adviser: Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC
Portfolio Managers: Jennifer Thornton, Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM, and Daniela Padilla, Portfolio Manager at BIM, are the individuals that are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each has served as portfolio manager since the Fund’s inception in April 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the Exchange, other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.imstetf.com.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
91
Additional Information About Each Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies
Overview
Each Fund is a series of Bitwise Funds Trust and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Funds are actively managed and do not seek to track the performance of an index. Each of the policies described herein, including the investment objective of each Fund, constitutes a non-fundamental policy that may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Certain fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”). There can be no assurance that a Fund’s objective will be achieved.
Each Fund’s investments are subject to certain requirements imposed by law and regulation, as well as the Fund’s investment strategy. These requirements are generally applied at the time a Fund invests its assets. If, subsequent to an investment by a Fund, this requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with the requirement.
Additional Information Regarding each Fund’s Principal Investment Strategy
Each Fund is an actively managed ETF that seeks to provide current income while providing exposure to the share price (i.e., the price returns) of a particular security (COIN, CRCL, Ether ETP, GME, MARA or MSTR, as applicable) (the “Applicable Security”), subject to a limit on potential investment gains. Each Fund seeks to achieve these investment objectives through the use of a synthetic covered call strategy. Each Fund seeks to provide its synthetic exposure to the price return of the Applicable Security through the purchase and sale of a combination of call and put option contracts that utilize the Applicable Security as the reference asset. Each Fund will also sell call options that utilize the Applicable Security as the reference asset to generate income in the form of option premiums, but will also limit the degree to which a Fund will participate in investment gains experienced by the Applicable Security.
In implementing its investment strategy, each Fund will invest in traditional exchange-traded options contracts and/or FLEX Options that utilize the Applicable Security as the reference asset. Each Fund will only invest in options contracts that are listed for trading on regulated U.S. exchanges. Traditional exchange-traded options have standardized terms, such as the type (call or put), the reference asset, the strike price and expiration date. Exchange-listed options contracts are guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. FLEX Options are a type of exchange-listed options contract with uniquely customizable terms that allow investors to customize key terms like type, strike price and expiration date that are standardized in a typical options contract. FLEX Options are also guaranteed for settlement by the OCC. It is anticipated that the Fund will invest primarily in FLEX Options. The FLEX Options held by the Fund may be either physical or cash settled.
In general, an option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying the option at a specified exercise price. The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price (call) or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency (put). The Funds may utilize both European and American style options. An option is said to be “European Style” when it can be exercised only at expiration whereas an “American Style” option can be exercised at any time prior to expiration.
92
In a traditional covered call strategy, an investor (such as a Fund) sells a call option on a security it already owns. Each Fund will primarily derive its exposure to their Applicable Security through the use of options contracts that use the Applicable Security as the reference asset. It is this distinction that causes a Fund’s strategy to be properly termed as a “synthetic covered call strategy,” as opposed to a traditional covered call strategy, because each Fund has synthetic exposure to the Applicable Security. Each Fund’s synthetic exposure to the Applicable Security is achieved through the combination of purchasing call options and selling put options generally at the same strike price, which synthetically creates the upside and downside participation in the price returns of the Applicable Security. Each Fund will primarily gain exposure to increases in value experienced by the Applicable Security through the purchase of call options. As a buyer of these options, a Fund pays a premium to the seller of the options. Each Fund will primarily gain exposure to decreases in value experienced by the Applicable Security through the sale of put options. As the seller of these options, a Fund receives a premium from the buyer of the options. In combination, the purchased call and sold put options generally provide exposure to price returns of the Applicable Security both on the upside and downside. Each Fund intends to continuously maintain exposure to the Applicable Security through the use of options. When such options expire or are exercised, the Funds will enter into new options. This is a practice referred to as “rolling.” The Funds’ practice of rolling options may result in higher levels of portfolio turnover
As the primary means by which each Fund intends to generate income, the Fund will sell call options that reference the Applicable Security at a strike price that is expected to be approximately between 0% and 15% above the then-current share price of the Applicable Security. It is important to note that the sale of these call options to generate income will limit the Fund’s ability to participate in increases in value of the Applicable Security’s share price beyond a certain point. If the share price of the Applicable Security increases, the above-referenced synthetic long exposure would allow a Fund to experience similar percentage gains. However, if the Applicable Security’s share price appreciates in value beyond the strike price of one or more of the call option contracts that a Fund has sold to generate income, the Fund will lose money on those short call positions, and the losses will, in turn, limit the upside return of the Fund’s synthetic long exposure. As a result, the Fund’s overall strategy (i.e., the combination of the synthetic long exposure to the Applicable Security and the sold Applicable Security call positions) will limit a Fund’s participation in gains of the Applicable Security’s share price beyond a certain point. This strategy effectively converts a portion of the potential upside price return growth of the Applicable Security into current income. It is expected that the call options a Fund will sell to generate options premiums will generally have expirations of approximately one year or less and will be held to or close to expiration.
In addition to the options contracts, a Fund will also invest in cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, which will serve to collateralize the Fund’s options positions and provide additional income. The market value of the cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities held by a Fund is expected to be between 50% and 100% of the Fund’s net assets and the market value of the options package is expected to be between 0% and 50% of the Fund’s net assets. In terms of notional value, the combination of these investment instruments provides indirect investment exposure to the Applicable Security’s equal to at least 100% of the Fund’s total assets.
93
Additional Information on Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the online, peer-to-peer Bitcoin network, a decentralized network of computers that operates on cryptographic protocols. The ownership of bitcoin is determined by participants in the Bitcoin network. The Bitcoin network connects computers that run publicly accessible, or “open source,” software that follows the rules and procedures governing the Bitcoin network. This is commonly referred to as the Bitcoin Protocol.
No single entity owns or operates the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is not issued by any government, by banks or similar organizations. The infrastructure of the Bitcoin network is collectively maintained by a decentralized user base. The Bitcoin network is accessed through software, and software governs the creation, movement, and ownership of “bitcoin,” the unit of account on the Bitcoin network ledger. The value of bitcoin is determined, in part, by the supply of, and demand for, bitcoin in the global markets for trading bitcoin, market expectations for the adoption of bitcoin as a decentralized store of value, the number of merchants and/or institutions that accept bitcoin as a form of payment and the volume of private end-user-to-end-user transactions.
Bitcoin transaction and ownership records are reflected on the “Bitcoin blockchain,” which is a digital public record or ledger. Copies of this ledger are stored in a decentralized manner on the computers of each Bitcoin network node (a node is any user who maintains on their computer a full copy of all the bitcoin transaction records, the blockchain, as well as related software). Transaction data is permanently recorded in files called “blocks,” which reflect transactions that have been recorded and authenticated by Bitcoin network participants. The Bitcoin network software source code includes protocols that govern the creation of new bitcoin and the cryptographic system that secures and verifies bitcoin transactions.
Bitcoin, the asset, plays a key role in the operation of the Bitcoin network, as the computers (or “miners”) that process transactions on the network and maintain the network’s security are compensated through the issuance of new bitcoin and through transaction fees paid by users in bitcoin.
Additional Information on Ether
Ether is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the online, peer-to-peer Ethereum network, a decentralized network of computers that operates on cryptographic protocols. No single entity owns or operates the Ethereum network, the infrastructure of which is collectively maintained by a decentralized user base. The Ethereum network allows people to exchange tokens of value, called “ether” or “ETH,” which are recorded on a public transaction ledger known as a blockchain. Ether can be used to pay for goods and services, including computational power on the Ethereum network, or it can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, at rates determined on digital asset trading platforms or in individual end-user-to-end-user transactions under a barter system. Furthermore, the Ethereum network also allows users to write and implement smart contracts—that is, general-purpose code that executes on every computer in the network and can instruct the transmission of information and value based on a sophisticated set of logical conditions. Using smart contracts, users can create markets, store registries of debts or promises, represent the ownership of property, move funds in accordance with conditional instructions and create digital assets other than ether on the Ethereum network. Smart contract operations are executed on the Ethereum blockchain in exchange for payment of ether. The Ethereum network is one of a number of projects intended to expand blockchain use beyond just a peer-to-peer money system.
94
The Ethereum network is decentralized in that it does not require governmental authorities or financial institution intermediaries to create, transmit or determine the value of ether. Rather, following the initial distribution of ether, ether is created, burned and allocated by the Ethereum network protocol through a process that is currently subject to an issuance and burn rate. Among other things, ether is used to pay for transaction fees and computational services (i.e., smart contracts) on the Ethereum network; users of the Ethereum network pay for the computational power of the machines executing the requested operations with ether. Requiring payment in ether on the Ethereum network incentivizes developers to write quality applications and increases the efficiency of the Ethereum network because wasteful code costs more. It also ensures that the Ethereum network remains economically viable by compensating people for their contributed computational resources. Unlike other digital assets, such as bitcoin, which are solely created through a progressive mining process, 72.0 million ether or “ETH” were created in connection with the launch of the Ethereum network.
Additional Risks of Investing in the Funds
Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Funds involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus.
Principal Risks
Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by real or perceived adverse economic, political, and regulatory factors or market developments, changes in interest rates, disruptions to trade, impositions of tariffs and perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, regulatory actions, political changes, diplomatic developments, the imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of Fund Shares, the liquidity of an investment, and may result in increased market volatility. During any such events, Fund Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value, the bid/ask spread on Fund Shares may widen and the returns on investment may fluctuate.
Covered Call Strategy Risk. A covered call strategy involves writing (selling) covered call options in return for the receipt of premiums. The seller of the option gives up the opportunity to benefit from price increases in the underlying instrument above the exercise price of the options but continues to bear the risk of underlying instrument price declines. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from underlying instrument price declines over time. As a result, the risks associated with writing covered call options may be similar to the risks associated with writing put options. Exchanges may suspend the trading of options during periods of abnormal market volatility. Suspension of trading may mean that an option seller is unable to sell options at a time that may be desirable or advantageous to do so.
95
The covered call strategy utilized by the Funds is “synthetic” because the Funds’ exposure to the price return of the Applicable Securities is derived through options exposure, rather than direct holdings of the shares of the Applicable Securities. Because such exposure is synthetic, it is possible that a Fund’s participation in the price return of the Applicable Securities may not be as precise as if the Fund were directly holding shares of the Applicable Security.
COIN Investing Risks. Bitwise COIN Option Income Strategy ETF will have significant exposure to COIN through its investments in options contracts that utilize COIN as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of COIN, set forth below.
COIN-Issuer Specific Risks. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, COIN faces risks associated with companies in the financials sector, as well as those relating to the “digital asset industry ecosystem.” The technology relating to the digital asset industry ecosystem is new and developing and the risks associated with digital assets may not fully emerge until the technology is widely used. Technologies utilizing cryptography are used by companies to optimize their business practices, whether by using the technology within their business or operating business lines involved in the operation of the technology. Cryptography refers to a set of techniques designed to allow for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. Blockchain is a well-known example of a technology that relies on cryptography. A blockchain is comprised of unchangeable, digitally recorded data in packages called “blocks.” These digitally recorded blocks of data are stored in a linear “chain.” Each block in the chain contains data (e.g., a transaction), that is cryptographically connected to the previous block in the chain, ensuring all data in the overall “blockchain” has not been tampered with and remains unchanged. The cryptographic keys necessary to transact a digital asset may be subject to theft, loss, or destruction, which could adversely affect a company’s business or operations if it were dependent on such an asset. Competing platforms and technologies may be developed such that consumers or investors use an alternative to digital assets. There may be risks posed by the lack of regulation for digital assets and any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of crypto technologies. Recently, U.S. securities regulators have brought actions against companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem for violations of U.S. securities laws. To the extent such an action is brought against a company held by the Fund, the value of such a holding could decrease significantly. Because companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem may operate across many national boundaries and regulatory jurisdictions, it is possible that such companies may be subject to widespread and inconsistent regulation. Companies operating in the digital asset industry ecosystem that rely on third party products may be subject to technical defects or vulnerabilities beyond a company’s control. Because many digital assets do not have a standardized exchange, like a stock market, there is less liquidity for such assets and greater possibility of volatility, fraud or manipulation. In addition, these companies may engage in other lines of business unrelated to the crypto industry ecosystem, and these lines of business could adversely affect their operating results. Such companies may be engaged in activities traditionally comprising the information technology sector and financials sector. These companies also may not be able to develop crypto technology applications or may not be able to capitalize on those applications. Technologies may also never be fully implemented, which could adversely affect an investment in such companies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to cybersecurity risk. In addition, certain features of digital asset industry technologies, such as decentralization, open source protocol, and reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, may increase the risk of fraud or cyber-attack by potentially reducing the likelihood of a coordinated response. A significant disruption of internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of crypto technologies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to the risks posed by conflicting intellectual property claims, which may reduce confidence in the viability of a digital asset.
96
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Digital Asset Trading Platforms Risk. Digital asset platforms, such as COIN, are relatively new and, in some cases, unregulated. Many operate outside the United States. Furthermore, while many prominent digital asset platforms provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices and regulatory compliance, many digital asset platforms do not provide this information. Digital asset platforms may not be subject to, or may not comply with, regulation in a similar manner as other regulated trading platforms, such as national securities exchanges or designated contract markets. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in digital asset platforms, including prominent platforms that handle a significant volume of bitcoin trading.
Many digital asset platforms are unlicensed, may be unregulated, may be subject to regulation in a relevant jurisdiction but may or may not be in compliance therewith, may operate without extensive supervision by governmental authorities, and may not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management team, corporate practices, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. In particular, those located outside the United States may be subject to significantly less stringent regulatory and compliance requirements in their local jurisdictions and may take the position that they are not subject to laws and regulations that would apply to a national securities exchange or designated contract market in the United States, or may, as a practical matter, be beyond the ambit of U.S. regulators.
In addition, over the past several years, some digital asset platforms have been closed due to fraud and manipulative activity, business failure, or security breaches. In many of these instances, the customers of such digital asset platforms were not compensated or made whole for the partial or complete losses of their account balances in such digital asset platforms. While, generally speaking, smaller digital asset platforms are less likely to have the infrastructure and capitalization that make larger digital asset platforms more stable, larger digital asset platforms are more likely to be appealing targets for hackers and malware, and their shortcomings or ultimate failures are more likely to have contagion effects on the digital asset ecosystem and, therefore, may be more likely targets of regulatory enforcement action.
97
Negative perception, a lack of stability and standardized regulation in the digital asset markets and the closure or temporary shutdown of digital asset platforms due to fraud, business failure, security breaches or government-mandated regulation and associated losses by customers may reduce confidence in the Bitcoin network and result in greater volatility or decreases in the prices of bitcoin.
Indirect Investment Risk. Coinbase Global, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of COIN and make no representation as to the performance of COIN. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in COIN. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to COIN.
Financial Companies Risk. Companies in the financials sector are subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge, the amount of capital and liquid assets they must maintain and, potentially, their size. Governmental regulation may change frequently and may have significant adverse consequences for companies in the financials sector, including effects not intended by such regulation. Increased risk taking by financial companies may also result in greater overall risk in the U.S. and global financials sector. The impact of changes in capital requirements, or recent or future regulation in various countries, on any individual financial company or on the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted.
Certain risks may impact the value of investments in the financials sector more severely than those of investments outside this sector, including the risks associated with companies that operate with substantial financial leverage. Companies in the financials sector are exposed directly to the credit risk of their borrowers and counterparties, who may be leveraged to an unknown degree, including through swaps and other derivatives products. Financial services companies may have significant exposure to the same borrowers and counterparties, with the result that a borrower’s or counterparty’s inability to meet its obligations to one company may affect other companies with exposure to the same borrower or counterparty. This interconnectedness of risk may result in significant negative impacts to companies with direct exposure to the defaulting counterparty as well as adverse cascading effects in the markets and the financials sector generally. Companies in the financials sector may also be adversely affected by increases in interest rates and loan losses, decreases in the availability of money or asset valuations, credit rating downgrades, adverse public perception and adverse conditions in other related markets. Insurance companies, in particular, may be subject to severe price competition and/or rate regulation, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. The financials sector is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates. The financials sector is also a target for cyberattacks. Cybersecurity incidents and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent and have caused significant losses to companies in this sector, which may negatively impact the Fund. The extent to which the Fund may invest in a company that engages in securities-related activities or banking is limited by applicable law.
98
Large Capitalization Companies Risk. Large capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
CRCL Investing Risks. Bitwise CRCL Option Income Strategy ETF will have significant exposure to CRCL through its investments in options contracts that utilize CRCL as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will subject to the risks of CRCL, set forth below.
CRCL-Issuer Specific Risks. CRCL faces significant risks as an issuer of stablecoins, in particular USDC, a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins face growing scrutiny from U.S. and global regulators due to their potential implications for financial stability, illicit finance, monetary policy and consumer protection. Changes in regulatory treatment, including legislation or enforcement actions restricting the issuance, redemption, or reserve management of stablecoins, could significantly impair Circle’s business model and financial condition. CRCL’s ability to maintain the 1:1 backing of USDC with high-quality liquid assets, primarily U.S. Treasuries and cash, is critical to its credibility and adoption. Any perceived instability, lack of transparency or reserve shortfall could lead to rapid redemptions and reputational damage. Additionally, CRCL is exposed to operational and cybersecurity risks inherent in managing a digital financial infrastructure, as well as technology risk tied to the performance of public blockchains on which USDC circulates. As a newly listed company, CRCL may also experience heightened share price volatility, limited trading history, and reduced analyst coverage, which may contribute to price instability. The Fund’s concentrated exposure to CRCL may result in a disproportionate impact on its performance in the event of adverse developments affecting Circle or the broader stablecoin ecosystem.
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
99
Indirect Investment Risk. Circle Internet Group, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or, any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of CRCL and make no representation as to the performance of CRCL. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in CRCL. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to CRCL.
Financial Companies Risk. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, supply chains, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics, and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability.
Stablecoin Risk. The Fund will have significant exposure to stablecoins, as a result of its concentrated exposure to CRCL, an issuer of stablecoins. Although U.S. dollar- or Euro-pegged stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value by being backed by fiat currency reserves or other liquid assets, there is no guarantee that the peg will be maintained or that the reserves will be sufficient, transparent or accessible in times of market stress. The issuer’s ability to honor redemptions on a 1:1 basis may be impaired by inadequate reserve management, limited oversight, insolvency or legal restrictions. Moreover, the stablecoin market is subject to an evolving regulatory environment. Any legislative or enforcement actions targeting stablecoin issuers, custodians or reserve assets could impact the stablecoin’s functionality, tradability or value. Even where reserves are fully collateralized, lack of independent audits, insufficient disclosures or concentration in a single custodian or asset type (e.g., short-term U.S. Treasuries) may expose investors to hidden vulnerabilities. Additionally, stablecoins are typically reliant on blockchain infrastructure and smart contracts, which may be subject to bugs, outages or cyberattacks. A failure to maintain the peg or loss of confidence in the stablecoin could result in rapid redemptions, illiquidity, and significant losses to investors. Investors should not assume that exposure to a U.S. dollar- or Euro-pegged stablecoin is equivalent to holding U.S. dollars, Euros or risk-free assets.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
GME Investing Risks. Bitwise GME Option Income Strategy ETF will have significant exposure to GME through its investments in options contracts that utilize GME as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will subject to the risks of GME, set forth below.
GME-Issuer Specific Risks. GME has experienced significant volatility due to factors such as shifts in consumer behavior, e-commerce competition, evolving business strategy, and heightened media and retail investor attention. These risks may materially affect the company’s financial performance and, in turn, the value of the Fund. GME is undergoing a fundamental business transformation amid a highly dynamic retail environment. It has faced structural challenges including declining physical video game sales, increasing digital distribution, and a shift in consumer behavior away from brick-and-mortar retail. In response, GME has sought to reposition itself through strategic changes, including leadership turnover, changes in capital allocation, operational restructuring, and efforts to pivot toward digital commerce and broader technology initiatives. These initiatives involve considerable execution risk, and there is no assurance that GME’s strategy will yield sustainable profitability or long-term shareholder value. GME’s financial results may be adversely impacted by high operating leverage, elevated capital expenditure requirements, inventory risk, and potential supply chain disruptions.
100
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Indirect Investment Risk. GameStop Corp. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or, any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of GME and make no representation as to the performance of GME. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in GME. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to GME.
Consumer Discretionary Companies Risk. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, supply chains, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics, and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability.
Retail Companies Risk. Companies involved in retail may be affected by the performance of the domestic and international economy, interest rates, rates of inflation, exchange rates, competition, consumer confidence, and reputational damage. The success of companies involved in retail depends heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and changes in demographics and consumer preferences can affect the success of retail companies. Certain retail companies have historically been subject to significant seasonal and quarterly variations. The success of retail companies may be strongly affected by fads, marketing campaigns, and other factors affecting supply and demand, and a retail company’s success can be tied to its ability to anticipate changing consumer tastes. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. Certain business segments of retail companies are highly cyclical, which may cause the operating results of such retail companies to vary significantly. Retail companies may be dependent on outside financing, which may be difficult to obtain. Many of these companies are dependent on third-party suppliers and distribution systems and purchase merchandise both directly from brand owners and indirectly from retailers and third-party suppliers. Such companies may also be dependent upon suppliers for the products used for their own brand name merchandise. Reliance on third-party suppliers subjects retail companies to risks of delivery delays, price increases and receipt of nonconforming or poor-quality merchandise. Retail companies may be unable to protect their intellectual property rights and may be liable for infringing the intellectual property rights of others. Changes in labor laws and other labor issues, such as increased labor costs, could adversely affect the financial performance of retail companies. If retail companies do not maintain the security of customer-related information, they could damage their reputations with customers, incur substantial costs, and become subject to litigation, all of which could adversely affect the financial performance of such companies. The international operations of certain retail companies expose them to risks associated with instability and changes in economic and political conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in foreign regulations, tariffs, trade disputes, and other risks inherent to international business. Some of the companies in the Retail Index are engaged in other lines of business unrelated to retail, and they may experience problems with these lines of business, which could adversely affect their operating results. The operating results of these companies may fluctuate as a result of these additional risks and events in the other lines of business. In addition, a company’s ability to engage in new activities may expose it to business risks with which it has less experience than it has with the business risks associated with its traditional businesses. Despite a company’s possible success in traditional retail activities, the other lines of business in which these companies are engaged may have an adverse effect on a company’s business or financial condition.
101
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
MARA Investing Risks. Bitwise MARA Option Income Strategy ETF will have significant exposure to MARA through its investments in options contracts that utilize MARA as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of MARA, set forth below.
MARA-Issuer Specific Risks. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, MARA faces risks associated with companies in the financials sector, as well as those relating to the “digital asset industry ecosystem.” In particular, MARA faces unique risks in connection with its bitcoin mining activities. The technology and hardware used in bitcoin mining is subject to malfunction, technological obsolescence, the global supply chain and difficulty and cost in obtaining new hardware. Bitcoin miners are subject to malfunctions and normal wear and tear, and, at any point in time, a certain number of bitcoin miners are typically offline for maintenance or repair. The physical degradation of miners will require replacement of miners that are no longer functional. If there is a model-wide component malfunction whether in the hardware or the software that powers these miners, the percentage of offline miners could increase substantially, disrupting mining operations. Any major bitcoin miner malfunction out of the typical range of downtime for normal maintenance and repair could cause significant economic damage. Additionally, as technology evolves, there may be a need to acquire newer models of miners to remain competitive in the market. New miners can be costly and may be in short supply. Given the long production period to manufacture and assemble bitcoin miners and the current global semiconductor chip shortage, there can be no assurance that miners can acquire enough bitcoin mining computers or replacement parts on a cost-effective basis for the maintenance and expansion necessary for efficient bitcoin mining operations. Many engaged in mining rely on third parties, principally located in China, to supply bitcoin miners and shortages of bitcoin miners or their component parts, material increases in bitcoin miner costs, or delays in delivery of orders, including due to trade restrictions and supply chain disruptions, could significantly interrupt plans for expanding bitcoin mining capacity in the near term and future. Shortages of bitcoin mining computers could result in reduced bitcoin mining capacity and increased operating costs, which could materially delay the completion of any planned bitcoin mining capacity expansion and result in a competitive disadvantage.
102
Global bitcoin supply, which is influenced by similar factors as global bitcoin demand, in addition to fiat currency (i.e., government currency not backed by an asset such as gold), may be affected by miners and taxpayers who may liquidate bitcoin holdings to meet tax obligations. In addition, the dedication of mining power to the Bitcoin network and the willingness of bitcoin miners to clear bitcoin transactions for relatively low fees may impact the supply and price.
Miners may cease expanding processing power to create blocks and verify transactions if they are not adequately compensated. Miners generate revenue from both newly created bitcoin (known as the “block reward”) and from fees taken upon verification of transactions. If the aggregate revenue from transaction fees and the block reward is below a miner’s cost, the miner may cease operations. An acute cessation of mining operations would reduce the collective processing power on the Bitcoin blockchain, which would adversely affect the transaction verification process by temporarily decreasing the speed at which blocks are added to the Bitcoin blockchain and make the Bitcoin blockchain more vulnerable to a malicious actor obtaining control in excess of 50 percent of the processing power on the Bitcoin blockchain. Reductions in processing power could result in material, though temporary, delays in transaction confirmation time. Any reduction in confidence in the transaction verification process or mining processing power may adversely impact the price of bitcoin. Furthermore, the block reward will decrease over time. In the summer of 2024, the block reward was reduced from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoin, and it will further reduce to 1.5625 bitcoin in 2028. As the block reward continues to decrease over time, the mining incentive structure will transition to a higher reliance on transaction verification fees in order to incentivize miners to continue to dedicate processing power to the Bitcoin blockchain. If transaction verification fees become too high, the marketplace may be reluctant to use bitcoin. Decreased demand for bitcoin may adversely affect its price, which may adversely affect MARA.
Bitcoin mining activities are inherently energy intensive and electricity costs account for a significant portion of the overall mining costs. The availability and cost of electricity will restrict the geographic locations of mining activities. High costs of electricity may incentivize miners to redirect their resources to other validation protocols, such a proof-of-stake blockchains, or abandon their validation activities entirely. A significant decrease in the computational resources dedicated to the Bitcoin network’s validation protocol could reduce the security of the network which may erode bitcoin’s viability as a store of value or means of exchange. In addition, the significant consumption of electricity may have a negative environmental impact, including contribution to climate change, which may give rise to public opinion against allowing the use of electricity for bitcoin mining activities or government measures restricting or prohibiting the use of electricity for bitcoin mining activities. Any such developments could lower the demand for bitcoin and have a material and adverse effect on the price of bitcoin.
103
Concerns have been raised about the electricity required to secure and maintain digital asset networks. For example, as of December 1, 2024, over 800 million terahashes were performed every second in connection with mining on the Bitcoin network. Although measuring the electricity consumed by this process is difficult because these operations are performed by various machines with varying levels of efficiency, the process consumes a significant amount of energy. Further, in addition to the direct energy costs of performing calculations on any given digital asset network, there are indirect costs that impact a network’s total energy consumption, including the costs of cooling the machines that perform these calculations.
Driven by concerns around energy consumption and the impact on public utility companies, various states and cities have implemented, or are considering implementing, moratoriums on mining activity in their jurisdictions. For example, in November 2022, New York imposed a two-year moratorium on new proof-of-work mining permits at fossil fuel plants in the state. A significant reduction in mining activity as a result of such actions could adversely affect the security of the Bitcoin network by making it easier for a malicious actor or botnet to manipulate the Bitcoin network. If regulators or public utilities take action that restricts or otherwise impacts mining activities, such actions could result in decreased security of a digital asset network, including the Bitcoin network, and consequently adversely impact the value of MARA.
Besides the risks associated with bitcoin mining in particular, MARA is subject to the risks associated with the digital asset industry ecosystem in general. The technology relating to the digital asset industry ecosystem is new and developing and the risks associated with digital assets may not fully emerge until the technology is widely used. Technologies utilizing cryptography are used by companies to optimize their business practices, whether by using the technology within their business or operating business lines involved in the operation of the technology. Cryptography refers to a set of techniques designed to allow for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. Blockchain is a well-known example of a technology that relies on cryptography. A blockchain is comprised of unchangeable, digitally recorded data in packages called “blocks.” These digitally recorded blocks of data are stored in a linear “chain.” Each block in the chain contains data (e.g., a transaction), that is cryptographically connected to the previous block in the chain, ensuring all data in the overall “blockchain” has not been tampered with and remains unchanged. The cryptographic keys necessary to transact a digital asset may be subject to theft, loss, or destruction, which could adversely affect a company’s business or operations if it were dependent on such an asset. Competing platforms and technologies may be developed such that consumers or investors use an alternative to digital assets. There may be risks posed by the lack of regulation for digital assets and any future regulatory developments could affect the viability and expansion of the use of crypto technologies. Recently, U.S. securities regulators have brought actions against companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem for violations of U.S. securities laws. To the extent such an action is brought against a company held by the Fund, the value of such a holding could decrease significantly. Because companies operating in the crypto industry ecosystem may operate across many national boundaries and regulatory jurisdictions, it is possible that such companies may be subject to widespread and inconsistent regulation. Companies operating in the digital asset industry ecosystem that rely on third party products may be subject to technical defects or vulnerabilities beyond a company’s control. Because many digital assets do not have a standardized exchange, like a stock market, there is less liquidity for such assets and greater possibility of volatility, fraud or manipulation. In addition, these companies may engage in other lines of business unrelated to the crypto industry ecosystem, and these lines of business could adversely affect their operating results. Such companies may be engaged in activities traditionally comprising the information technology sector and financials sector. These companies also may not be able to develop crypto technology applications or may not be able to capitalize on those applications. Technologies may also never be fully implemented, which could adversely affect an investment in such companies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to cybersecurity risk. In addition, certain features of crypto industry technologies, such as decentralization, open source protocol, and reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, may increase the risk of fraud or cyber-attack by potentially reducing the likelihood of a coordinated response. A significant disruption of internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of crypto technologies. Companies that use crypto technologies may be subject to the risks posed by conflicting intellectual property claims, which may reduce confidence in the viability of a digital asset.
104
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Indirect Investment Risk. MARA Holdings, Inc. is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of MARA and make no representation as to the performance of MARA. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in MARA. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to MARA.
Information Technology Companies Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Like other technology companies, information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments, frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Information technology companies are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action.
105
Large Capitalization Companies Risk. Large capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
MSTR Investing Risks. Bitwise MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF will have significant exposure to MSTR through its investments in options contracts that utilize MSTR as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of MSTR, set forth below.
MSTR-Issuer Specific Risks. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, in addition to the risks associated with companies in the technology sector, MSTR faces risks related to its bitcoin acquisition strategy, including: the various risks associated with bitcoin; the risks associated with bitcoin being a highly volatile asset; the risk that the company’s historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that the company may experience in the future relating to its bitcoin holdings; the risk that the availability of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products may adversely affect the market price of MSTR; the risk of enhanced regulatory oversight; concentration risk; liquidity risk; and counterparty risk, particularly with respect to custodians. MSTR also faces risks related to its enterprise analytics software business strategy, including: risks relating to its dependence on revenue from a single software platform and related services as well as revenue from its installed customer base; the risk that as customers increasingly shift from a product license model to a cloud subscription model, the company could face higher future rates of attrition, and such a shift could continue to affect the timing of revenue recognition or reduce product licenses and product support revenues, which could materially adversely affect the company’s operating results; the risk that if the company is unable to develop and release new software product offerings or enhancements to its existing offerings in a timely and cost-effective manner, the company’s business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected; and the risk the company’s software may be susceptible to undetected errors, bugs, or security vulnerabilities, which could cause problems with how the software performs and, in turn, reduce demand for the company’s software, reduce its revenue, and lead to litigation claims against the company.
106
Bitcoin Treasury Companies Risk. MSTR is a type of company known as a “bitcoin treasury company.” These are company hold substantial quantities of bitcoin as a primary component of their corporate strategy. Such companies may hold bitcoin as a reserve asset on their balance sheets or may raise capital through equity or debt offerings for the purpose of acquiring additional bitcoin. The market value of securities issued by bitcoin treasury companies may be highly correlated with, and in certain circumstances more volatile than, the price of bitcoin itself. Bitcoin has historically experienced extreme price volatility, and significant declines in the price of bitcoin may materially and adversely affect the financial condition, operating results, and market valuation of bitcoin treasury companies. In some cases, bitcoin holdings may represent a significant portion of a company’s assets or market capitalization, meaning that fluctuations in bitcoin prices may have a disproportionate effect on the value of such companies’ equity securities. In addition, bitcoin treasury companies may use capital markets transactions, including the issuance of equity securities, convertible debt, or preferred securities, to finance the acquisition of additional bitcoin. These financing strategies may increase financial leverage, create dilution for existing shareholders, and amplify the impact of bitcoin price movements on a company’s financial condition and stock price. During periods of declining bitcoin prices or reduced investor appetite for digital asset exposure, such companies may have difficulty raising capital on favorable terms or may be forced to curtail or unwind their bitcoin acquisition strategies. Because the perceived value of certain bitcoin treasury companies has at times traded at a premium to the value of their underlying bitcoin holdings, declines in bitcoin prices or shifts in investor sentiment toward digital assets may also cause such premiums to compress or reverse, which could lead to rapid and significant declines in the market prices of their securities. During periods of declining bitcoin prices, as was seen in 2025 and 2026, the equity securities of certain bitcoin treasury companies declined significantly more than the price of bitcoin itself, reflecting the leveraged nature of their business models and investor expectations embedded in their valuations. In certain instances, bitcoin treasury companies saw their market valuations fall below the value of the bitcoin such companies held. Bitcoin treasury companies also face accounting, liquidity, and balance sheet risks associated with holding digital assets. Under certain accounting frameworks, bitcoin has historically been treated as an intangible asset and may require impairment charges when its market value falls below the acquisition cost, even if the company does not sell the bitcoin. Such impairment charges can result in significant reported losses and increased volatility in financial statements. In addition, a substantial allocation of corporate assets to bitcoin may reduce a company’s liquidity and limit its ability to deploy capital for operating needs, strategic acquisitions, or other corporate purposes. These factors may make bitcoin treasury companies more financially exposed to cryptocurrency market cycles than companies with more traditional treasury management strategies. Furthermore, the business models of bitcoin treasury companies may become increasingly dependent on continued investor confidence in their ability to accumulate and hold bitcoin over time. A prolonged decline in bitcoin prices, reduced access to capital markets, or a loss of investor confidence in the strategy of holding bitcoin as a corporate reserve asset could adversely affect the financial condition of such companies and, in extreme circumstances, could result in forced sales of bitcoin or other assets. The growing number of companies adopting bitcoin treasury strategies may also create feedback loops between equity markets and digital asset markets, potentially increasing volatility and creating the risk of cascading declines during periods of market stress.
107
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Indirect Investment Risk. Strategy Inc is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund, the Adviser or any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of MSTR and make no representation as to the performance of MSTR. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in MSTR. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to MSTR.
Information Technology Companies Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Like other technology companies, information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments, frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Information technology companies are facing increased government and regulatory scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or regulatory action.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk. Large capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
United States Risk. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
108
Digital Assets Risk. Certain of the Applicable Securities have significant exposure to digital assets. Accordingly, certain Funds are subject to the risks associated with such holdings as set forth below.
Bitcoin Risk. Bitcoin remains a volatile and evolving asset subject to significant market fluctuations, uncertainty, and speculative investment interest. Although institutional participation, the development of regulated investment products, and broader market infrastructure have increased in recent years, the value of bitcoin continues to be influenced substantially by market sentiment, speculative demand, liquidity conditions and macroeconomic factors rather than traditional fundamental analysis. The further development and sustained acceptance of the Bitcoin network are dependent on a variety of complex factors, including technological developments, regulatory treatment, institutional participation, and broader public adoption. While regulatory oversight of bitcoin and digital asset markets has increased in certain jurisdictions, including the United States and Europe, the global regulatory environment remains fragmented and subject to change. Regulatory developments may include new legislation, enforcement actions against digital asset market participants, trading restrictions, taxation policies or changes in regulatory classification. Any such actions could materially affect the value, liquidity, or market structure of bitcoin. Bitcoin markets remain susceptible to fraud, market manipulation, theft, cybersecurity incidents and operational disruptions. Trading may occur on digital asset trading platforms that are not subject to the same regulatory oversight as traditional securities exchanges. Failures of market participants such as exchanges, custodians, lenders, or other intermediaries could negatively affect market confidence and liquidity. In addition, a significant concentration of bitcoin holdings among a relatively small number of holders may increase the risk that large transactions or coordinated trading activity could cause substantial price volatility. Technological risks remain inherent in bitcoin and the Bitcoin network. Although technological developments, including scaling technologies such as the Lightning Network, have sought to improve transaction efficiency and network usability, these technologies remain relatively new and may contain technical vulnerabilities, security risks, or operational limitations. Technical failures, software bugs, cyber attacks, or other disruptions could undermine confidence in the Bitcoin network and adversely affect the price of bitcoin. The potential for blockchain forks also continues to exist. Forks may occur when developers and network participants disagree regarding changes to the Bitcoin protocol. Such events could result in competing blockchain networks, market confusion, or dilution of value associated with bitcoin. Competition from alternative digital assets and blockchain networks remains significant. Other digital assets may offer technological features or use cases that differ from or improve upon those associated with bitcoin. Increased adoption of competing digital assets or payment systems could reduce demand for bitcoin and negatively affect its market value. Any of these risks, individually or collectively, could materially and adversely affect the acceptance and market value of bitcoin.
Custody Risk. Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in relation to digital assets. The bitcoin/ether held by the issuers of the Applicable Securities will likely be an appealing target to hackers or malware distributors seeking to destroy, damage or steal such bitcoin/ether. To the extent that these issuers are unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats or otherwise adapt to technological changes in the digital asset industry, such bitcoin/ether may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack. The issuers of the Applicable Securities have put security procedures in place to prevent such theft, loss or destruction, including but not limited to, offline storage, or cold storage, multiple encrypted private key “shards,” and other measures. Nevertheless, the security procedures cannot guarantee the prevention of any loss due to a security breach, software defect or act of God that may be borne by these issuers, and the security procedures may not protect against all errors, software flaws or other vulnerabilities in the issuers’ technical infrastructure, which could result in theft, loss or damage of its assets. Assets not held in cold storage, such as assets held in a trading account, may be more vulnerable to security breach, hacking or loss than assets held in cold storage. Furthermore, assets held in a trading account are held on an omnibus, rather than segregated basis, which creates greater risk of loss. The security procedures and operational infrastructure may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, error or malfeasance of an employee, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to accounts in which bitcoin/ether is held, the relevant private keys (and therefore bitcoin or ether) or other data or property. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to such bitcoin/ether.
109
Digital Asset Market and Volatility Risk. The prices of digital assets have historically been highly volatile. The value of such assets has been, and may continue to be, substantially dependent on speculation, such that trading and investing in these assets generally may not be based on fundamental analysis. The value of a Fund’s investments in instruments that provide exposure to an Applicable Security, and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund, could decline significantly and without warning. If you are not prepared to accept significant and unexpected changes in the value of a Fund, you should not invest in the Fund.
Digital Asset Regulatory Risk. There is a lack of consensus regarding the regulation of digital assets, including bitcoin and ether, and their markets. As a result of the growth in the size of the digital asset market, as well as recent events in the digital asset market, the U.S. Congress and a number of U.S. federal and state agencies (including FinCEN, SEC, OCC, CFTC, FINRA, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, state financial institution regulators, and others) have been examining the operations of digital asset networks, digital asset users and the digital asset markets. Many of these state and federal agencies have brought enforcement actions or issued consumer advisories regarding the risks posed by digital assets to investors. Ongoing and future regulatory actions with respect to digital assets generally or bitcoin/ether in particular may alter, perhaps to a materially adverse extent, the nature of an investment in Fund Shares.
Irrevocability of Transactions Risk. Digital asset transactions are typically not reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to the blockchain, an incorrect transfer or theft of bitcoin generally will not be reversible, and issuers of an Applicable Security may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, bitcoin could be transferred from its account in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts. Such events have occurred in connection with digital assets in the past. For example, in September 2014, the Chinese digital asset platform Huobi announced that it had sent approximately 900 bitcoin and 8,000 Litecoin (worth approximately $400,000 at the prevailing market prices at the time) to the wrong customers. To the extent that an issuer of an Applicable Security is unable to seek a corrective transaction with such third-party or is incapable of identifying the third-party which has received its bitcoin/ether through error or theft, the issuer of an Applicable Security will be unable to revert or otherwise recover incorrectly transferred bitcoin/ether. Issuers of the Applicable Securities will also be unable to convert or recover its bitcoin/ether transferred to uncontrolled accounts. To the extent that an issuer of an Applicable Security is unable to seek redress for such error or theft, such loss could adversely affect the value of its shares.
110
Ether Futures ETFs Risk. The Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF may have exposure to Ether Futures ETFs through its utilization of Ether ETP Options that utilize an Ether Futures ETF as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of Ether Futures ETFs set forth below. Ether Futures ETFs are also subject to the risks set forth above in Spot Ether ETPs Risk, as well as Active Management Risk, Concentration Risk, Cybersecurity Risk, Derivatives Risk, Leverage Risk, Liquidity Risk, Operational Risk, Structural ETF Risk, U.S. Government Securities Risk and Valuation Risk set forth below.
Ether Futures Risk. The market for ether futures contracts may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. While the market for ether futures contracts has grown substantially since ether futures contracts commenced trading, there can be no assurance that this growth will continue. The price for ether futures contracts is based on a number of factors, including the supply of and the demand for ether futures contracts. Market conditions and expectations, position limits, accountability levels, collateral requirements, availability of counterparties, and other factors each can impact the supply of and demand for ether futures contracts. Additionally, due to the high margin requirements that are unique to ether futures contracts, an Ether Futures ETF may experience difficulty maintaining the desired level of exposure to ether futures contracts. If an Ether Futures ETF is unable to achieve such exposure it may not be able to meet its investment objective and the fund’s returns may be different or lower than expected. Additionally, collateral requirements may require an Ether Futures ETF to liquidate its positions, potentially incurring losses and expenses, when it otherwise would not do so. Investing in derivatives like ether futures contracts may be considered aggressive and may expose an Ether Futures ETF to significant risks. These risks include counterparty risk and liquidity risk.
Ether Futures Capacity Risk. If an Ether Futures ETF’s ability to obtain exposure to ether futures contracts consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the ether futures contracts market, a disruption to the ether futures contracts market, or as a result of margin requirements, position limits, accountability levels, or other limitations imposed by an Ether Future ETF’s futures commission merchants (“FCMs”), the listing exchanges, or the CFTC, an Ether Futures ETF may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses. Any disruption in an Ether Futures ETF’s ability to obtain exposure to ether futures contracts will cause the Ether Futures ETF’s performance to deviate from the performance of ether futures contracts, and consequently, ether. Additionally, the ability of an Ether Futures ETF to obtain exposure to ether futures contracts may be limited by certain tax rules that limit the amount an Ether Futures ETF can invest in its wholly-owned subsidiary as of the end of each tax quarter. Exceeding this amount may have tax consequences.
Cost of Futures Investment Risk. When an ether futures contract is nearing expiration, an Ether Futures ETF will “roll” the futures contract, which means it will generally sell the ether futures contract and use the proceeds to buy an ether futures contract with a later expiration date. When rolling futures contracts that are in contango, an Ether Futures ETF would sell a lower priced, expiring contract and purchase a higher priced, longer-dated contract. The price difference between the expiring contract and longer-dated contract associated with rolling futures contracts is typically substantially higher than the price difference associated with rolling other futures contracts. Ether futures contracts have historically experienced extended periods of contango. Contango in the ether futures contracts market may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of an Ether Futures ETF and may cause ether futures contracts, and an Ether Futures ETF, to underperform the current price of ether. Both contango and backwardation would reduce an Ether Futures ETF’s correlation to the current price of ether and may limit or prevent an Ether Futures ETF from achieving its investment objective.
111
Clearing Broker Risk. An Ether Futures ETF’s investments in exchange-traded futures contracts expose it to the risks of a clearing broker (or an FCM). Under current regulations, a clearing broker or FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. There is a risk that the assets of an Ether Futures ETF deposited with the clearing broker to serve as margin may be used to satisfy the broker’s own obligations or the losses of the broker’s other clients. In the event of default, an Ether Futures ETF could experience lengthy delays in recovering some or all of its assets and may not see any recovery at all. Furthermore, an Ether Futures ETF is subject to the risk that no FCM is willing or able to clear the Fund’s transactions or maintain an Ether Futures ETF’s assets. If an Ether Futures ETF’s FCMs are unable or unwilling to clear an Ether Futures ETF’s transactions, or if the FCM refuses to maintain an Ether Futures ETF’s assets, an Ether Futures ETF will be unable have its orders for ether futures contracts fulfilled or assets custodied. In such a circumstance, the performance of an Ether Futures ETF will likely deviate from the performance of ether and may result in the proportion of ether futures contracts in an Ether Futures ETF’s portfolio relative to the total assets of an Ether Futures ETF to decrease.
Commodity Regulatory Risk. An Ether Futures ETF’s use of commodities futures subject to regulation by the CFTC has caused an Ether Futures ETF to be classified as a “commodity pool” and this designation requires that an Ether Futures ETF comply with CFTC rules, which may impose additional regulatory requirements and compliance obligations. An Ether Futures ETF’s investment decisions may need to be modified, and commodity contract positions held by an Ether Futures ETF may have to be liquidated at disadvantageous times or prices, to avoid exceeding any applicable position limits established by the CFTC, potentially subjecting an Ether Futures ETF to substantial losses. The regulation of commodity transactions in the United States is subject to ongoing modification by government, self-regulatory and judicial action. The effect of any future regulatory change with respect to any aspect of an Ether Futures ETF is impossible to predict, but could be substantial and adverse to an Ether Futures ETF.
Futures Contract Risk. Risks of futures contracts include: (i) an imperfect correlation between the value of the futures contract and the underlying asset; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market; (iii) the inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iv) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which may be unlimited; (v) an obligation for an Ether Futures ETF to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin, particularly at times when an Ether Futures ETF may have insufficient cash; and (vi) unfavorable execution prices from rapid selling. Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for settlement in cash based on the reference asset. As the futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. This process is referred to as “rolling.” If the market for these contracts is in “contango,” meaning that the prices of futures contracts in the nearer months are lower than the price of contracts in the distant months, the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a lower price than the longer-term contract, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contract. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will be dependent upon the difference in price of the near and distant contract. The costs associated with rolling ether futures contracts may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Ether Futures ETF.
112
Subsidiary Investment Risk. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which certain Ether Futures ETFs and their wholly-owned Cayman subsidiaries are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of an Ether Futures ETF to operate as intended and could negatively affect an Ether Futures ETF and its shareholders (such as the Fund). An Ether Futures ETF’s Cayman subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act.
Active Management Risk. Each Fund is actively managed, and its performance reflects investment decisions that the Adviser makes for the Fund. Such judgments about a Fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and the strategies employed by a Fund fail to produce the intended results, the Fund could underperform as compared to other funds with similar investment objectives and/or strategies, or could have negative returns.
Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including the options held by the Fund, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, each Fund’s counterparty is a clearinghouse, such as the OCC, rather than a bank or broker. Since the Funds are not a member of clearinghouses, and only members of a clearinghouse (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearinghouse, each Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. With regard to its cleared derivatives positions, a Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to, and receive payments from, a clearinghouse through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any option contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not associated with any of the clearing member’s individual customers by name. As a result, assets deposited by a Fund with any clearing member as margin for its options position may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearinghouse, there is a risk that the assets of a Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy. Each Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, a Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. The loss of a clearing member for a Fund to transact with could result in increased transaction costs and other operational issues that could impede the Fund’s ability to implement its investment strategy. If a Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.
Concentration Risk. Each Fund is susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in investments that provide exposure to the Applicable Security and the industry to which it is assigned.
113
Current Market Conditions Risk. Current market conditions risk is the risk that a particular investment, or Fund Shares in general, may fall in value due to current market conditions. Global financial markets have experienced periods of elevated volatility driven by geopolitical conflict, changing monetary policy, regulatory developments and trade policy uncertainty, each of which may affect asset prices and market liquidity. Monetary policy remains uncertain and central banks may raise or lower interest rates depending on economic conditions, inflation trends, and financial stability considerations. Changes in interest rates may adversely affect financial markets, liquidity and the value of certain investments held by a Fund. U.S. regulators have proposed and adopted several changes to market and issuer regulations that may directly or indirectly affect a Fund and its investments. Any regulatory changes, including those relating to securities markets, derivatives markets, digital assets, market structure or disclosure requirements could adversely impact a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment strategies or make certain investments. The political and regulatory environment in the United States remains subject to change. Political developments, legislative activity, regulatory priorities and policy decisions may affect the regulatory landscape, financial markets and investor behavior. Changes in fiscal, tax, immigration, trade or other government policies may affect economic conditions and securities markets generally. Trade policy developments may also adversely affect financial markets and economic conditions. The United States has implemented and proposed tariffs and other trade restrictions affecting various trading partners, and foreign governments have implemented or may implement retaliatory trade measures. Trade policy uncertainty, including uncertainty regarding the scope, duration, and legal authority for tariffs or other trade restrictions, may disrupt global supply chains, reduce international trade, increase costs for businesses and consumers and contribute to market volatility. Geopolitical conflicts may also adversely affect global markets. Ongoing hostilities and military actions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and other parties in the Middle East have heightened the risk of broader regional instability and have contributed to volatility in energy markets and global financial markets. Escalation of these or other regional conflicts could disrupt energy supplies, shipping routes, and global supply chains. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to contribute to geopolitical risk and may affect global markets, particularly commodities and energy markets. The economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as financial markets generally, may also be adversely impacted by geopolitical tensions or disputes. For example, tensions between the United States and China remain ongoing, including disputes relating to trade, technology, and national security. In addition, the Chinese government continues to assert territorial claims involving Taiwan. If geopolitical tensions involving China, Taiwan, or other regions escalate, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or worsen, economies, markets, and individual securities may be adversely affected and the value of a Fund’s assets may decline. Technological developments may also significantly affect markets and the performance of a Fund. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure may transform industries, alter labor markets, and lead to new regulatory frameworks. In addition, cybersecurity incidents involving government entities, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, or other participants could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, and negatively impact financial markets or a Fund’s service providers. These events, and other unforeseen developments, may adversely affect the prices and liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio investments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets.
114
Cybersecurity Risk. Each Fund is susceptible to operational risks due to breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause a Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause a Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to a Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks due to efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cybersecurity breaches of a Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or the issuers in which a Fund invests, can also subject a Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches. Although the Funds have established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Funds do not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
Debt Securities Risk. Investments in debt securities subject the holder to the credit risk of the issuer. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or other obligor of a security will not be able or willing to make payments of interest and principal when due. Generally, the value of debt securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. If the principal on a debt security is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. Debt securities generally do not trade on a securities exchange making them generally less liquid and more difficult to value than common stock.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) the risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on share price.
FLEX Options Risk. Trading FLEX Options involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. A Fund may experience losses from specific FLEX Option positions and certain FLEX Option positions may expire worthless. The FLEX Options are listed on an exchange; however, no one can guarantee that a liquid secondary trading market will exist for the FLEX Options. In the event that trading in the FLEX Options is limited or absent, the value of a Fund’s FLEX Options may decrease. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, liquidating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium (for written FLEX Options) or acceptance of a discounted price (for purchased FLEX Options) and may take longer to complete. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and Fund Shares and result in the Fund being unable to achieve its investment objective. Less liquidity in the trading of a Fund’s FLEX Options could have an impact on the prices paid or received by the Fund for the FLEX Options in connection with creations and redemptions of Fund Shares. Depending on the nature of this impact to pricing, a Fund may be forced to pay more for redemptions (or receive less for creations) than the price at which it currently values the FLEX Options. Such overpayment or under collection could reduce a Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Additionally, in a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the liquidation of a large number of options may more significantly impact the price. A less liquid trading market may adversely impact the value of the FLEX Options and the value of your investment. The trading in FLEX Options may be less deep and liquid than the market for certain other exchange-traded options, non-customized options or other securities.
115
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions may decline. This risk is more prevalent with respect to fixed income securities held by a Fund.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the debt securities in a Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising market interest rates. Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term debt securities and higher for longer-term debt securities. Duration is a reasonably accurate measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and a common measure of interest rate risk. Duration measures a debt security’s expected life on a present value basis, taking into account the debt security’s yield, interest payments and final maturity. In general, duration represents the expected percentage change in the value of a security for an immediate 1% change in interest rates. For example, the price of a debt security with a three-year duration would be expected to drop by approximately 3% in response to a 1% increase in interest rates. Therefore, prices of debt securities with shorter durations tend to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than debt securities with longer durations. As the value of a debt security changes over time, so will its duration.
Leverage Risk. While the Funds do not seek leveraged exposure, each Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the exposure to the price of its Applicable Security by using the leverage inherent in options contracts. Therefore, each Fund is subject to leverage risk. When a Fund purchases or sells an instrument or enters into a transaction without investing an amount equal to the full economic exposure of the instrument or transaction, it creates leverage, which can result in a Fund losing more than it originally invested. As a result, these investments may magnify losses to a Fund, and even a small market movement may result in significant losses to the Fund. Leverage may also cause a Fund to be more volatile because it may exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Options trading involves a degree of leverage and, as a result, a relatively small price movement in futures instruments may result in immediate and substantial losses to a Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The market for options may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which a Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. Such large positions also may impact the price of options.
Non-Diversification Risk. As a “non-diversified” fund, each Fund has the ability to invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in the securities of a small number of issuers or in financial instruments with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. This may increase a Fund’s volatility and increase the risk that the Fund’s performance will decline based on the performance of a single issuer or the credit of a single counterparty.
116
Operational Risk. Each Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error; processing and communication errors; errors of a Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties; failed or inadequate processes; and technology or systems failures. Each Fund relies on third parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Funds and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Options Risk. The use of options involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions and depends on the ability of a Fund’s portfolio managers to forecast market movements correctly. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, or in interest or currency exchange rates, including the anticipated volatility, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political and economic events. The effective use of options also depends on a Fund’s ability to terminate option positions at times deemed desirable to do so. There is no assurance that a Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, there may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values of options and their underlying securities and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Funds may experience high levels of portfolio turnover. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase a Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in a Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
Special Tax Risk. Each Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” or “RIC.” If, in any year, a Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. Each Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the FLEX Options as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, each Fund intends to treat the issuer of the FLEX Options as the referenced asset, which may allow a Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the FLEX Options is not appropriately the referenced asset, a Fund may lose its own status as a RIC if tax positions reflected by such options are large enough.
Special Tax Risk (Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF). The Fund intends to qualify as a RIC, however, the federal income tax treatment of certain aspects of the proposed operations of the Fund are not entirely clear. This includes the tax aspects of the Fund’s options strategy, the possible application of the “straddle” rules, and various loss limitation provisions of the Code. If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation.
To the extent that the Fund’s investments in Ether ETP Options include offsetting positions, the character of gains or losses realized by the Fund under the Code’s “straddle” rules may be affected and may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by the Fund. The Fund may hold certain options that do not qualify as “Section 1256 contracts” under Section 1256 of the Code, and disposition of such options will likely result in short-term or long-term capital gains or losses depending on the holding period.
117
To the extent Ether ETP Options held by the Fund are deemed to be Section 1256 contracts, gains and losses on such options will generally be treated as 60% long-term capital and 40% short-term capital, regardless of how long the Fund has held such options. Section 1256 contracts held by the Fund at the end of a taxable year are “marked to market” for income tax purposes, meaning that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized (and treated on the 60/40 basis described above). The Fund’s use of Ether ETP Options categorized as Section 1256 contracts will increase the likelihood that the Fund will be subject to recognize short-term and long-term capital gains as such options do not benefit from the tax efficiencies generated by an ETF’s in-kind creation and redemption mechanism. The Fund will be required to distribution substantially all of its net short term capital gain and will either distribute its net long term capital gain or notify the shareholders that the Fund is electing to pay tax on its long-term capital gains but that the shareholders will be required to include the long-term capital gains in income.
In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Fund intends to treat the issuer of the options as the issuer of the referenced asset, the issuers of the securities underlying the index, which, assuming the referenced asset qualifies as a RIC, would allow the Fund to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the options is not appropriately the referenced asset or the issuers of the securities underlying the index, the Fund could lose its own status as a RIC.
The Fund intends to treat the income it derives from gains on options referencing the Spot Ether ETPs as “qualifying income” for purposes of the RIC qualification rules under Subchapter M of the Code. It has adopted this position in reliance on an opinion obtained from counsel that income from such investments should constitute “qualifying income,” as the Spot Ether ETPs referenced by the options constitute “securities” under Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act. However, this opinion is not binding upon the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). If the IRS were to successfully assert that the Fund’s income from such investments was not “qualifying income,” the Fund may fail to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M if over 10% of its gross income was derived from these investments. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC, it would be subject to federal and state income tax on all of its taxable income at regular corporate tax rates with no deduction for any distributions paid to shareholders, which would significantly adversely affect the returns to, and could cause substantial losses for, Fund shareholders.
To maintain its status as a RIC, the Fund must distribute 90% of its investment company taxable income annually. In addition, to avoid a non-deductible excise tax, the Fund must distribute 98% of its ordinary income and 98.2% of its capital gain net income. Separately, depending upon the circumstances, sales to fund redemptions could cause the Fund to recognize income that the Fund is required to distribute to maintain the Fund’s RIC status and avoid the excise tax. Funding such distributions could require additional sales, which could require more distributions and affect the projected performance of a Fund. Alternatively, if the Fund only makes distributions to maintain its RIC status and becomes subject to the excise tax, that could also affect the projected performance of the Fund. In either case, the assets sold to fund redemptions, distributions or pay the excise tax will not be available to assist the Fund in meeting its investment objective.
118
In the event that a shareholder purchases Fund Shares shortly before a distribution by the Fund, the entire distribution may be taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of the purchase price.
Spot Ether ETP Risks. The Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF may have exposure to Spot Ether ETPs through its utilization of Ether ETP Options that utilize a Spot Ether ETP as the reference asset. Accordingly, the Fund will be subject to the risks of Spot Ether ETPs set forth below.
Ether Risk. Ether is subject to significant volatility, rapid price fluctuations, and uncertainty. Although ether has experienced increased institutional attention, technological development, and broader adoption in recent years, its value continues to be influenced by market sentiment, speculative investment activity, macroeconomic conditions, and technological developments rather than traditional fundamental analysis. The Ethereum blockchain is an evolving technology platform that continues to undergo significant upgrades intended to improve scalability, security, and functionality. In recent years, the Ethereum network transitioned from a Proof of Work consensus mechanism to a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. Additional upgrades and scalability solutions, including rollups and other Layer 2 technologies, continue to be developed and implemented. While these developments are intended to enhance network efficiency and usability, technological changes introduce risks including coding errors, software vulnerabilities, delays in development, network disruptions, or unintended economic consequences that could negatively affect investor confidence, network adoption, or the value of ether. The regulatory environment for ether and the Ethereum blockchain remains uncertain and continues to evolve globally. Regulatory authorities may take differing or inconsistent approaches regarding the classification, trading, custody or taxation of ether. Regulatory actions may include enforcement proceedings, new legislation or regulatory guidance affecting digital asset markets. Changes in the regulatory classification of ether, including the possibility that ether could be treated differently under securities, commodities, or other regulatory regimes, could materially affect ether’s value, liquidity, or market perception. The Ethereum ecosystem relies extensively on smart contracts and decentralized applications that operate on the Ethereum blockchain. Smart contracts are computer code designed to automatically execute transactions or other functions. Although smart contracts enable a wide range of decentralized finance and blockchain applications, they are subject to risks including coding vulnerabilities, exploitation, hacking incidents, and design flaws. Security breaches involving decentralized finance platforms, decentralized exchanges, or other smart contract based systems have resulted in significant financial losses in the past and could negatively affect market sentiment, investor confidence, and the value of ether. Competition from other blockchain networks remains significant. Alternative Layer 1 blockchain platforms, including networks such as Solana, Avalanche, Cardano, Polkadot, and others, may offer technological advantages such as faster transaction speeds, lower fees, improved scalability or specialized features. The successful adoption and development of competing blockchain ecosystems could reduce Ethereum’s market share, developer activity, or network usage and could negatively affect the long-term value of ether. The Ethereum network may also face governance risks. Decisions regarding protocol upgrades, network parameters or other changes are generally determined through decentralized processes involving developers, validators and other network participants. Disagreements among participants or failures to achieve consensus could lead to contentious blockchain forks, fragmentation of the network, or diminished market confidence. Any of these risks, individually or collectively, could materially and adversely affect the acceptance and market value of ether.
119
Custody Risk. Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in relation to digital assets. The ether held by the Spot Ether ETPs’ custodian will likely be an appealing target to hackers or malware distributors seeking to destroy, damage or steal the Spot Ether ETPs’ ether. To the extent that the Spot Ether ETPs and their service providers are unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats or otherwise adapt to technological changes in the digital asset industry, a Spot Ether ETP’s ether may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack. The Spot Ether ETPs have put security procedures in place to prevent such theft, loss or destruction, including but not limited to, offline storage, or cold storage, multiple encrypted private key “shards” and other measures. Nevertheless, the security procedures cannot guarantee the prevention of any loss due to a security breach, software defect or act of God that may be borne by the Spot Ether ETPs and the security procedures may not protect against all errors, software flaws or other vulnerabilities in a Spot Ether ETP’s technical infrastructure, which could result in theft, loss or damage of its assets. The Spot Ether ETPs do not control the operations of their service providers or their implementation of such security procedures, and there can be no assurance that such security procedures will actually work as designed or prove to be successful in safeguarding a Spot Ether ETP’s assets against all possible sources of theft, loss or damage. Assets not held in cold storage, such as assets held in a trading account, may be more vulnerable to security breach, hacking or loss than assets held in cold storage. Furthermore, assets held in a trading account are held on an omnibus rather than segregated basis, which creates greater risk of loss. The security procedures and operational infrastructure may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, error or malfeasance of an employee of a Spot Ether ETP’s service providers, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to the Spot Ether ETP’s account at the custodian where its ether is held, the relevant private keys (and therefore ether) or other data or property of a Spot Ether ETP. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees of a Spot Ether ETP or its service providers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to a Spot Ether ETP’s infrastructure. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently, or may be designed to remain dormant until a predetermined event and often are not recognized until launched against a target, a Spot Ether ETP and its service providers may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures.
Trading Halt Risk. Trading in shares of a Spot Ether ETP on U.S. securities exchanges may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of an exchange, make trading in shares of a Spot Ether ETP inadvisable. In addition, trading of shares of a Spot Ether ETP on securities exchanges is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to an exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. Shares of a Spot Ether ETP may be at a higher risk of a trading halt due to the volatility of ether. In the event that shares of a Spot Ether ETP are subject to a trading halt, the Fund’s ability to pursue its principal investment strategy may be impaired and the Fund may be negatively affected.
120
Volatility Risk. The price of ether remains highly volatile and subject to significant price fluctuations. While recent increases in institutional adoption, clearer regulatory frameworks and broader market acceptance have contributed to greater stability relative to earlier periods, the price of ether continues to be influenced by rapid shifts in market sentiment, regulatory developments, macroeconomic conditions, technological advancements and unforeseen events. The market price of ether has historically experienced dramatic highs and lows over short periods, often with limited or no identifiable catalyst. Given the evolving nature of digital asset markets, price volatility may be amplified by external factors such as changes in global financial markets, geopolitical events, regulatory enforcement actions or significant technological or security incidents. Furthermore, speculative trading, leveraged positions and derivatives markets tied to ether continue to contribute to potential volatility. Investors should remain aware that sudden, substantial price movements may occur at any time, potentially leading to significant losses. Consequently, investments linked directly or indirectly to ether, including Spot Ether ETPs, may experience heightened volatility compared to traditional investment products.
Structural ETF Risks. Each Fund is an ETF. Accordingly, it is subject to certain risks associated with its unique structure.
Active Market Risk. Although Fund Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Fund Shares will develop or be maintained. Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value. Securities, including Fund Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Fund Shares could decline in value or underperform other investments.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs, such as the Fund, which invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Cash Transactions Risk. Each Fund currently expects to effect a significant portion of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. Paying redemption proceeds in cash rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities may require a Fund to dispose of or sell portfolio securities or other assets at an inopportune time to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause a Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, a Fund may pay out higher or lower annual capital gains distributions than ETFs that redeem in-kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause Fund Shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, a Fund may not be able to execute cash transactions for creation and redemption purposes at the same price used to determine the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the maximum additional charge for creation or redemption transactions is insufficient to cover the execution shortfall, a Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted.
121
Costs of Buying and Selling Fund Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Fund Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Fund Shares may significantly reduce investment results, and an investment in Fund Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Premium/Discount Risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund’s daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. U.S. government securities are subject to interest rate risk but generally do not involve the credit risks associated with investments in other types of debt securities. As a result, the yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than the yields available from other debt securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity.
Valuation Risk. The Funds may hold securities or other assets that may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur because the asset or security does not trade on a centralized exchange, or in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” assets or securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that a Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that a Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. A Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
Management of the Funds
Each Fund is a series of Bitwise Funds Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. Each Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objectives and policies. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Adviser, distributor, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.
122
Investment Adviser. Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC (“BIM”), 250 Montgomery Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94104, serves as each Fund’s investment adviser. In its capacity as Adviser, BIM manages each Fund’s investments subject to the supervision of the Board. BIM also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution and all other services necessary for the Funds to operate. In particular, BIM provides investment and operational oversight.
Portfolio Managers. Jennifer Thornton and Daniela Padilla are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds.
| ● | Jennifer Thornton, Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM. Ms. Thornton is the Head of ETFs & Index Portfolio Management at BIM. She is responsible for managing BIM’s suite of crypto index products, including performance and adherence to strategy and fund guidelines. Prior to joining BIM in 2021, Ms. Thornton worked for BlackRock in the ETF and Index Investments (EII) Americas Portfolio Management group. Previous to this role, she was with the Transition Management team in Trading and Liquidity Strategies, providing risk managed solutions to institutional investors undergoing portfolio reorganizations in multiple asset classes. Previous to BlackRock, Ms. Thornton was a transition portfolio manager, a project manager for system implementations, and a relationship manager overseeing dealings with strategic investment service partners at Barclays Global Investors. She earned an MBA degree from San Francisco State University and a BBA degree in marketing from the University of Mississippi. |
| ● | Daniela Padilla, Portfolio Manager at BIM. Ms. Padilla is a Portfolio Manager at BIM with eight years of financial services experience. Ms. Padilla joined BIM in 2021 in a portfolio management capacity, and has 5 years of experience managing index funds and alternative investment portfolios at BIM, prior to which she gained 4 years of experience in financial services in operations and middle office roles at JP Morgan, BBVA Securities, and Barclay Investments. |
For additional information concerning BIM, including a description of the services provided to the Funds, please see the Funds’ SAI. Additional information regarding the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of Fund Shares may also be found in the SAI.
Management Fee
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between BIM and the Trust, on behalf of the Funds (the “Investment Management Agreement”), each Fund has agreed to pay an annual unitary management fee to BIM in an amount equal to 0.95% of its average daily net assets. This unitary management fee is designed to pay a Fund’s expenses and to compensate BIM for the services it provides to the Fund. Out of the unitary management fee, BIM pays substantially all expenses of a Fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other service and license fees. However, BIM is not responsible for distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, taxes, interest, and extraordinary expenses.
BIM has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fees and/or assume as its own expense certain expenses otherwise payable by Bitwise COIN Option Income Strategy ETF, Bitwise MARA Option Income Strategy ETF and Bitwise MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF to the extent necessary to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (excluding brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 0.95% of such Fund’s average daily net assets until April 2, 2027. This Agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of a Fund, at any time and by BIM after April 2, 2027 upon sixty (60) days’ written notice to a Fund.
123
How to Buy and Sell Shares
Fund Shares are listed for secondary trading on the Exchange and individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer. The Exchange and secondary markets are closed on weekends and also are generally closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day (observed), Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The Exchange may close early on the business day before certain holidays and on the day after Thanksgiving Day. Exchange holiday schedules are subject to change without notice. If you buy or sell Fund Shares in the secondary market, you will pay the secondary market price for Fund Shares. In addition, you may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.
The trading prices of Fund Shares will fluctuate continuously throughout trading hours based on market supply and demand rather than the relevant Fund’s net asset value, which is calculated at the end of each business day. Fund Shares will trade on the Exchange at prices that may be above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount), to varying degrees, the daily net asset value of Fund Shares. The trading prices of Fund Shares may deviate significantly from the Fund’s net asset value during periods of market volatility. Given, however, that Fund Shares can be issued and redeemed daily in Creation Units, the Adviser believes that large discounts and premiums to net asset value should not be sustained over long periods.
Book Entry
Fund Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of, and holds legal title to, all outstanding Fund Shares. Investors owning Fund Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for Fund Shares.
DTC participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Fund Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Fund Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Fund Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Fund Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
Ordinarily, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least annually by a Fund. The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders annually.
124
Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Fund Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Fund Shares makes such option available.
Taxes
This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning Fund Shares. This section is current as of the date of this prospectus. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer, or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences.
This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Funds. The Internal Revenue Service could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. In addition, counsel to the Funds may not have been asked to review, and may not have reached a conclusion with respect to, the federal income tax treatment of the assets to be included in the Funds. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.
As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.
Fund Status. Each Fund intends to continue to qualify as a “regulated investment company” under the federal tax laws. If a Fund qualifies as a regulated investment company and distributes its income as required by the tax law, the Fund generally will not pay federal income taxes.
Distributions. Each Fund’s distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of a Fund into three categories: ordinary income distributions, capital gain dividends and returns of capital. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate, however, as further discussed below certain ordinary income distributions received from a Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your Fund Shares.
To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, a Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your Fund Shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when Fund Shares are sold, even if you sell the Fund Shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in a Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of a Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Fund Shares. The tax status of your distributions from a Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund Shares or receive them in cash. The income from a Fund that you must take into account for federal income tax purposes is not reduced by amounts used to pay a deferred sales fee, if any. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.
125
Income from a Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to your net investment income if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.
Dividends Received Deduction. A corporation that owns Fund Shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from a Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on Fund Shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by a Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.
Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends. If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated federal tax rate for net capital gains is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Some capital gains, including some portion of your capital gain dividends may be taxed at a higher maximum stated tax rate. Capital gains may also be subject to the Medicare tax described above.
Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your Fund Shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from a Fund and sell your Fund Shares at a loss after holding them for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.
Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a RIC such as a Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. A Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.
Options. The Funds intend to treat any income it may derive from the options as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. In addition, based upon language in the legislative history, the Funds intend to treat the issuer of the options as the referenced asset, which may allow the trust to qualify for special rules in the RIC diversification requirements. If the referenced asset is an index, the Funds intend to treat the issuer of the options as the issuer of the securities comprising the index. If the income is not qualifying income or the issuer of the options is not appropriately the referenced asset, a Fund could lose its own status as a RIC if the positions reflected by such options are large enough.
Ether ETP Options. To the Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF intends to treat the income it derives from gains on options referencing Spot Ether ETPs as “qualifying income” for purposes of the RIC qualification rules under Subchapter M of the Code. It has adopted this position in reliance on an opinion obtained from counsel that income from such investments should constitute “qualifying income,” as the Spot Ether ETPs referenced by the options constitute “securities” under Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act. However, this opinion is not binding upon the IRS. If the IRS were to successfully assert that the Fund’s income from such investments was not “qualifying income,” the Fund may fail to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M if over 10% of its gross income was derived from these investments. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC, it would be subject to federal and state income tax on all of its taxable income at regular corporate tax rates with no deduction for any distributions paid to shareholders, which would significantly adversely affect the returns to, and could cause substantial losses for, Fund shareholders.
126
On November 15, 2024, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a staff advisory concluding that it is likely that the options and the interests in Spot Ether ETPs referenced by the options would be judicially held to be a security. In 2009, the IRS adopted the position that, in determining the income and diversification tests of a RIC under Section 851 of the Code, the grantor trust rules of I.R.C. § 671, et seq, are applied before the definition of security is applied in I.R.C. § 851. In 2016, the IRS announced that it viewed determining the definition of security for the purposes of I.R.C. § 851 was more properly in the jurisdiction of the SEC. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court indicated that federal administrative agencies no longer needed to be given deference merely because their position was reasonable if the position of the agency is not consistent with the statute. Although the IRS has not formally announced a change in position in regard to whether the grantor trust rules are applied first, the combination of the 2016 announcement and the 2023 Supreme Court decision suggest that the best interpretation of the statute is to apply I.R.C. § 851’s plain language. If the grantor trust rules are applied first in reference to Spot Ether ETPs and the options, the options would ether, as applicable. Although the issue is not free from doubt, it is likely that ether would be classified as a commodity for purposes of I.R.C. § 851 and produce income that would not be qualifying income under the RIC tests. However, under the plain language of the statute, gains from securities (as determined under the 1940 Act) are qualifying income. Options on publicly traded grantor trusts are securities for the purposes of the 1940 Act.
Additionally, Ether ETP Options may be deemed to be Section 1256 contracts pursuant to the Code. To the extent that the Fund invests in Ether ETP Options that are categorized as Section 1256 contracts, the Fund will be required to recognize gains and losses from such instruments on a mark-to-market basis and treat 60% of any gain or loss as long-term and 40% as short-term, regardless of the holding period. To more accurately allocate these gains and other taxable income or loss among shareholders, the Fund may use an accounting practice known as “equalization.” By using equalization accounting, the Fund seeks to reduce the amount of its taxable income and capital gains that are required to be distributed to shareholders by accounting for a portion of the proceeds from sales of Fund Shares as attributable to undistributed net investment income and realized capital gains. This practice is intended to ensure that such income and gains are distributed only to those shareholders who have actually economically earned them. There is no assurance that the Fund will use equalization in any given taxable year, and the use of equalization will not affect a shareholder’s aggregate tax liability. The Fund will be required to distribution substantially all of its net short term capital gain and will either distribute its net long term capital gain or notify the shareholders that the Fund is electing to pay tax on its long-term capital gains but that the shareholders will be required to include the long-term capital gains in income.
Sale of Fund Shares. If you sell or redeem your Fund Shares, you will generally recognize a taxable gain or loss. To determine the amount of this gain or loss, you must subtract your tax basis in your Fund Shares from the amount you receive in the transaction. Your tax basis in your Fund Shares is generally equal to the cost of your Fund Shares, generally including brokerage fees, if any. In some cases, however, you may have to adjust your tax basis after you purchase your Fund Shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of capital gain if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax advisor about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.
127
Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units. If you exchange securities for Creation Units, you will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the cash redemption amount. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Treatment of Expenses. Expenses incurred and deducted by a Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.
Non-U.S. Investors. If you are a non-U.S. investor (i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from a Fund are characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which a Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) are subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from a Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that a Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from a Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by a Fund or as short-term capital gain income dividend attributable to certain net short term capital gain received by a Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that a Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. For tax years after December 31, 2022, amounts paid to or recognized by a non-U.S. affiliate that are excluded from tax under the portfolio interest, capital gain dividends, short-term capital gains or tax-exempt interest dividend exceptions or applicable treaties, may be taken into consideration in determining whether a corporation is an “applicable corporation” subject to a 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement income.
Distributions may be subject to a U.S. withholding tax of 30% in the case of distributions to (i) certain non-U.S. financial institutions that have not entered into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose certain information and are not resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury and (ii) certain other non-U.S. entities that do not provide certain certifications and information about the entity’s U.S. owners. This withholding tax is also currently scheduled to apply to the gross proceeds from the disposition of securities that produce U.S. source interest or dividends. However, proposed regulations may eliminate the requirement to withhold on payments of gross proceeds from dispositions.
128
It is the responsibility of the entity through which you hold your Fund Shares to determine the applicable withholding.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Funds. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state and local taxes on Fund distributions and sales of Fund Shares.
Distributor
Foreside Fund Services, LLC serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Fund Shares.
Net Asset Value
The NAV of each Fund normally is determined once daily Monday through Friday, generally as of the close of regular trading hours of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day that the NYSE is open for trading, based on prices at the time of closing, provided that any Fund assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. The NAV of a Fund is calculated by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of outstanding Fund Shares, generally rounded to the nearest cent. The value of the securities and other assets and liabilities held by a Fund is determined pursuant to valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board.
The Fund’s investments will be valued daily at market value or, in the absence of market value with respect to any securities or options contracts, at fair value in accordance with valuation procedures adopted by the Board and in accordance with the 1940 Act. Market value prices represent last sale or official closing prices from a national or foreign exchange (i.e., a regulated market) and are primarily obtained from third-party pricing services.
When market quotations are not readily available or are believed by the Adviser to be unreliable, a Fund’s investments are valued at fair value. Fair value determinations are made by the Adviser in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the Board. The Adviser may conclude that a market quotation is not readily available or is unreliable if a security or other asset or liability does not have a price source due to its lack of trading or other reasons, if a market quotation differs significantly from recent price quotations or otherwise no longer appears to reflect fair value, where the security or other asset or liability is thinly traded, when there is a significant event subsequent to the most recent market quotation, or if the trading market on which a security is listed is suspended or closed and no appropriate alternative trading market is available.
For certain non-U.S. assets, a third-party vendor supplies evaluated, systematic fair value pricing based upon the movement of a proprietary multi-factor model after the relevant non-U.S. markets have closed. This systematic fair value pricing methodology is designed to correlate the prices of foreign assets in one or more non-U.S. markets following the close of the local markets to the prices that might have prevailed as of the Fund’s pricing time.
Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of an asset or liability. The fair value of an asset or liability held by a Fund is the amount the Fund might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that asset or the cost to extinguish that liability in an arm’s-length transaction. Valuing a Fund’s investments using fair value pricing will result in prices that may differ from current market valuations and that may not be the prices at which those investments could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used.
129
Fund Service Providers
The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon”), located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, serves as each Fund’s administrator, custodian and transfer agent. BNY Mellon is the principal operating subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.
Chapman and Cutler LLP, 320 South Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
KPMG LLP, 375 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10001, serves as each Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Funds.
Premium/Discount Information
Information showing the number of days the market price of the Fund Shares was greater (at a premium) and less (at a discount) than each Fund’s NAV for the most recently completed calendar year, and the most recently completed calendar quarters since that year (or the life of a Fund, if shorter), is available at https://www.icoietf.com (for ICOI), https://www.icrcetf.com (for ICRC), https://www.iethetf.com (for IETH), https://www.igmeetf.com (for IGME), https://www.imraetf.com (for IMRA) or https://www.imstetf.com (for IMST).
Investments by Other Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including Fund Shares. Each Fund is required to comply with the conditions of Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, which allows, subject to certain conditions, the Fund to invest in other registered investment companies and other registered investment companies to invest in the Fund beyond the limits contained in Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act.
130
Financial Highlights
The following financial highlights are intended to help you understand the financial history of the Funds for the past five fiscal years, or since inception, if the life of a Fund is shorter. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund Share. The total returns in this table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in a Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The information for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 has been audited by KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, whose reports along with each Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Funds’ Form N-CSR dated December 31, 2025, which is available free, upon request.
| Bitwise COIN Option Income
Strategy ETF Selected Per Share Data |
Period
Ended December 31, 2025(a) |
|||
| Net Asset Value, beginning of period | $ | 50.00 | ||
| Income (loss) from investment operations: | ||||
| Net investment income (loss)(b) | (0.14 | ) | ||
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 5.97 | (c) | ||
| Total from investment operations | 5.83 | |||
| Less distributions from: | ||||
| Net investment income | (3.66 | ) | ||
| Return of capital | (36.10 | ) | ||
| Total distributions | (39.76 | ) | ||
| Net Asset Value, end of period | $ | 16.07 | ||
| Total Return (%) | (12.21 | )(d) | ||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data | ||||
| Net Assets, end of period ($ millions) | $ | 27.8 | ||
| Ratio of expenses (%) | 0.95 | (e)(f) | ||
| Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) | (0.64 | )(e)(f) | ||
| Portfolio turnover rate (%)(g) | 0 | (d) | ||
| (a) | For the period April 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2025. |
| (b) | Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding. |
| (c) | Because of the timing of subscriptions and redemptions in relation to fluctuating markets at value, the amount shown may not agree with the change in aggregate gains and losses. |
| (d) | Not annualized. |
| (e) | Annualized. |
| (f) | For the period April 3, 2025 (commencement of Fund expenses) through December 31, 2025. |
| (g) | Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions. |
131
| Bitwise CRCL Option Income
Strategy ETF Selected Per Share Data |
Period
Ended December 31, 2025(a) |
|||
| Net Asset Value, beginning of period | $ | 50.00 | ||
| Income (loss) from investment operations: | ||||
| Net investment income (loss)(b) | (0.07 | ) | ||
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (15.14 | ) | ||
| Total from investment operations | (15.21 | ) | ||
| Less distributions from: | ||||
| Net investment income | (2.99 | ) | ||
| Return of capital | (2.27 | ) | ||
| Total distributions | (5.26 | ) | ||
| Net Asset Value, end of period | $ | 29.53 | ||
| Total Return (%) | (30.31 | )(c) | ||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data | ||||
| Net Assets, end of period ($ millions) | $ | 0.3 | ||
| Ratio of expenses (%) | 0.95 | (d)(e) | ||
| Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) | (0.71 | )(d)(e) | ||
| Portfolio turnover rate (%)(f) | 0 | (c) | ||
| (a) | For the period October 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2025. |
| (b) | Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding. |
| (c) | Not annualized. |
| (d) | Annualized. |
| (e) | For the period October 2, 2025 (commencement of Fund expenses) through December 31, 2025. |
| (f) | Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions. |
132
| Bitwise Ethereum Option
Income Strategy ETF Selected Per Share Data |
Period
Ended December 31, 2025(a) |
|||
| Net Asset Value, beginning of period | $ | 50.00 | ||
| Income (loss) from investment operations: | ||||
| Net investment income (loss)(b) | (0.05 | ) | ||
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (13.13 | ) | ||
| Total from investment operations | (13.18 | ) | ||
| Return of capital | (5.68 | ) | ||
| Total distributions | (5.68 | ) | ||
| Net Asset Value, end of period | $ | 31.14 | ||
| Total Return (%) | (26.37 | )(c) | ||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data | ||||
| Net Assets, end of period ($ millions) | $ | 0.9 | ||
| Ratio of expenses (%) | 0.95 | (d)(e) | ||
| Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) | (0.57 | )(d)(e) | ||
| Portfolio turnover rate (%)(f) | 0 | (c) | ||
| (a) | For the period October 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2025. |
| (b) | Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding. |
| (c) | Not annualized. |
| (d) | Annualized. |
| (e) | For the period October 2, 2025 (commencement of Fund expenses) through December 31, 2025. |
| (f) | Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions. |
133
| Bitwise GME Option Income
Strategy ETF Selected Per Share Data |
Period
Ended December 31, 2025(a) |
|||
| Net Asset Value, beginning of period | $ | 50.00 | ||
| Income (loss) from investment operations: | ||||
| Net investment income (loss)(b) | (0.15 | ) | ||
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (10.31 | ) | ||
| Total from investment operations | (10.46 | ) | ||
| Return of capital | (16.16 | ) | ||
| Total distributions | (16.16 | ) | ||
| Net Asset Value, end of period | $ | 23.38 | ||
| Total Return (%) | (24.59 | )(c) | ||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data | ||||
| Net Assets, end of period ($ millions) | $ | 2.1 | ||
| Ratio of expenses (%) | 0.95 | (d)(e) | ||
| Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) | (0.80 | )(d)(e) | ||
| Portfolio turnover rate (%)(f) | 0 | (c) | ||
| (a) | For the period June 9, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2025. |
| (b) | Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding. |
| (c) | Not annualized. |
| (d) | Annualized. |
| (e) | For the period June 10, 2025 (commencement of Fund expenses) through December 31, 2025. |
| (f) | Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions |
134
| Bitwise MARA Option Income
Strategy ETF Selected Per Share Data |
Period Ended December 31, 2025(a) |
|||
| Net Asset Value, beginning of period | $ | 50.00 | ||
| Income (loss) from investment operations: | ||||
| Net investment income (loss)(b) | (0.19 | ) | ||
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (7.97 | ) | ||
| Total from investment operations | (8.16 | ) | ||
| Less distributions from: | (11.94 | ) | ||
| Net investment income | (11.94 | ) | ||
| Return of capital | (15.37 | ) | ||
| Total distributions | (27.31 | ) | ||
| Net Asset Value, end of period | $ | 14.53 | ||
| Total Return (%) | (39.36 | )(c) | ||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data | ||||
| Net Assets, end of period ($ millions) | $ | 2.6 | ||
| Ratio of expenses (%) | 0.95 | (d)(e) | ||
| Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) | (0.72 | )(d)(e) | ||
| Portfolio turnover rate (%)(f) | 0 | (c) | ||
| (a) | For the period April 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2025. |
| (b) | Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding. |
| (c) | Not annualized. |
| (d) | Annualized. |
| (e) | For the period April 3, 2025 (commencement of Fund expenses) through December 31, 2025. |
| (f) | Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions |
135
| Bitwise MSTR Option Income
Strategy ETF Selected Per Share Data |
Period Ended December 31, 2025(a) | |||
| Net Asset Value, beginning of period | $ | 50.00 | ||
| Income (loss) from investment operations: | ||||
| Net investment income (loss)(b) | (0.07 | ) | ||
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (12.61 | ) | ||
| Total from investment operations | (12.68 | ) | ||
| Return of capital | (24.72 | ) | ||
| Total distributions | (24.72 | ) | ||
| Net Asset Value, end of period | $ | 12.60 | ||
| Total Return (%) | (48.46 | )(c) | ||
| Ratios to Average Net Assets and Supplemental Data | ||||
| Net Assets, end of period ($ millions) | $ | 16.8 | ||
| Ratio of expenses (%) | 0.95 | (d)(e) | ||
| Ratio of net investment income (loss) (%) | (0.24 | )(d)(e) | ||
| Portfolio turnover rate (%)(f) | 0 | (c) | ||
| (a) | For the period April 1, 2025 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2025. |
| (b) | Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding. |
| (c) | Not annualized. |
| (d) | Annualized. |
| (e) | For the period April 3, 2025 (commencement of Fund expenses) through December 31, 2025. |
| (f) | Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions related to the processing of capital share transactions |
136

Bitwise COIN Option Income Strategy ETF (ICOI)
Bitwise CRCL Option Income Strategy ETF (ICRC)
Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF (IETH)
Bitwise GME Option Income Strategy ETF (IGME)
Bitwise MARA Option Income Strategy ETF (IMRA)
Bitwise MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF (IMST)
For more detailed information on the Funds, several additional sources of information are available to you. The Funds’ SAI, incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains detailed information on the Funds’ policies and operation. Additional information about a Fund’s investments is available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In a Fund’s annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly impacted the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year. A Fund’s most recent SAI, annual or semi-annual reports and certain other information are available free of charge by calling the Funds at (415) 707-3663 and on the Fund’s website at https://www.icoietf.com (for ICOI), https://www.icrcetf.com (for ICRC), https://www.iethetf.com (for IETH), https://www.igmeetf.com (for IGME), https://www.imraetf.com (for IMRA) or https://www.imstetf.com (for IMST), or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the number above with any inquiries.
You may obtain this and other information regarding the Funds, including the SAI and Codes of Ethics adopted by the Adviser, Distributor and the Trust, directly from the SEC. Information on the SEC’s website is free of charge. Visit the SEC’s online EDGAR database at http://www.sec.gov. You may also request information regarding the Funds by sending a request (along with a duplication fee) to the SEC by sending an electronic request to [email protected].
Bitwise Investment Manager, LLC
250 Montgomery Street, Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94104
www.bitwiseinvestments.com
SEC File #333-264900
811-23801