Bitwise Builds Managed Portfolios Out of Tokenized Stocks

Bitwise Asset Management is preparing to offer investors automated portfolios of tokenized stocks, Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen said on Bloomberg Crypto on Aug. 25, 2026, extending the financial industry's push to hold and manage traditional assets on blockchain rails.

Bitwise Asset Management is preparing to sell investors something that does not yet have a settled name: a managed, automatically rebalanced portfolio whose underlying holdings are tokenized stocks rather than shares held at a conventional custodian. Ryan Rasmussen, the firm's Director and Head of Research, laid out the plan on Bloomberg Technology's "Bloomberg Crypto" with Scarlet Fu and Tim Stenovec, framing it as the next step in an industry-wide effort to move traditional assets onto blockchains.

The pitch is less exotic than the vocabulary suggests. An exchange-traded fund is a wrapper: a basket of securities, a rule for what goes in it, and a mechanism that lets the wrapper's price track the basket. Tokenization swaps out the plumbing beneath that wrapper. Instead of positions recorded in the books of a transfer agent and settled through a clearing house, the exposure is represented by a token on a blockchain that can, in principle, move at any hour and be programmed to rebalance itself.

What an automated portfolio of tokenized stocks actually is

Strip the product back and there are three layers. The bottom layer is the tokenized stock itself — a digital representation of an equity exposure, issued by a party that holds or references the underlying share. The middle layer is the index or strategy: which names, what weights, how often the mix resets. The top layer is the automation, the part Bitwise is leaning on, where rebalancing happens by code rather than by a trading desk placing orders in a market session.

That is where the "next evolution of ETFs" language comes from. A traditional fund rebalances during exchange hours, with a creation-and-redemption process run by authorized participants. A portfolio assembled from tokens can in theory rebalance continuously, at smaller minimum sizes, and be held directly in a wallet rather than a brokerage account. Whether that theoretical flexibility survives contact with real liquidity is the open question, and it is the one investors should press hardest.

The gap between the token and the share certificate

Tokenized equity has repeatedly run into the same three frictions, and none of them has been fully solved anywhere in the market.

• Legal claim. A token that references a stock is not automatically the stock. What the holder owns — beneficial interest, a contractual claim on an issuer, or the share itself — determines what happens in a bankruptcy, a corporate action or a tender offer.
• Liquidity. Deep, continuous two-way pricing in tokenized equities is thinner than in the listed market it mirrors. Round-the-clock trading is only useful if there is a bid at 3 a.m. that resembles the closing price.
• Distribution and eligibility. Access rules differ sharply by jurisdiction and by investor type, which is why so many tokenization launches arrive with geographic carve-outs attached.

Automation adds a fourth consideration: the rebalancing logic is now software, and software has to be audited, upgraded and monitored. A rules-based strategy that resets itself without human review is efficient when markets are orderly and unforgiving when they are not.

Why asset managers keep pushing at this door

The commercial logic is straightforward. Blockchain rails promise cheaper settlement, programmable portfolio construction, fractional position sizes and a distribution channel that reaches investors who already hold digital assets in self-custody rather than at a broker. For a firm whose existing business is built around crypto index products, extending that machinery to equity exposure is a natural adjacency rather than a pivot.

It also arrives while the conventional market is doing perfectly well without reinvention. As of the last trade at 20:00 GMT on Aug. 25, 2026, the S&P 500 tracker (NYSEARCA: SPY) was at $765.91, up 0.32% from the prior close of $763.47 and holding inside a day range of $763.05 to $766.78. The Nasdaq 100 fund (NASDAQ: QQQ) stood at $710.72, up 0.62% on the day from $706.32, and the Dow tracker (NYSEARCA: DIA) was at $535.27, up 0.30%. That is the incumbent product set working exactly as designed: tight spreads, orderly intraday ranges, no drama. Any tokenized alternative has to beat that on cost, access or functionality, because it will not win on trust for some time.

What to watch as the product comes to market

Three details will tell you more than any launch announcement. First, the wrapper's legal structure and who issues the underlying tokens — a manager building on someone else's tokenized shares inherits that issuer's counterparty risk. Second, which investors can buy it and where, since eligibility restrictions are the usual tell for how regulators view the structure. Third, the all-in cost, including any spread paid to move in and out of tokens, measured against the handful of basis points a mainstream index fund charges today.

For most ordinary investors, nothing changes immediately. Tokenized equity portfolios are, for now, an infrastructure experiment being run in public by firms that believe the pipes matter more than the products flowing through them. If the experiment works, the interesting outcome is not a new asset class but a cheaper, faster version of one that already exists — and the incumbents will notice long before retail does.

Key facts

• Firm and product: Bitwise Asset Management, automated portfolios of tokenized stocks
• Executive on the record: Ryan Rasmussen, Director, Head of Research
• S&P 500 tracker (SPY): $765.91, +0.32%, as of 20:00 GMT Aug. 25, 2026
• Nasdaq 100 tracker (QQQ): $710.72, +0.62%, as of 20:00 GMT Aug. 25, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is Bitwise planning to launch?

Bitwise Asset Management is set to offer investors access to automated portfolios of tokenized stocks. Ryan Rasmussen, the firm's Director and Head of Research, described the plan on Bloomberg's "Bloomberg Crypto" program with Scarlet Fu and Tim Stenovec on Aug. 25, 2026. It is part of a broader industry push to manage traditional assets on blockchain infrastructure.

What is a tokenized stock?

A tokenized stock is a digital token on a blockchain that represents exposure to a listed equity. The token is issued by a party that holds or references the underlying share. Ownership is recorded on the blockchain rather than solely in the books of a transfer agent, which is what allows around-the-clock transfer and programmable settlement.

How would this differ from a conventional ETF?

A conventional exchange-traded fund holds securities through traditional custody and rebalances during exchange hours using authorized participants. A portfolio built from tokens can in principle rebalance by code, trade outside market hours, support very small position sizes and be held in a wallet rather than a brokerage account.

What are the main risks with tokenized equity products?

Three recur across the market: the legal nature of the claim, meaning whether a holder owns the share or a contractual reference to it; liquidity, since tokenized equities generally trade thinner than the listed shares they mirror; and access rules, which vary by jurisdiction and investor type. Automated rebalancing adds software and oversight risk.

Where were the major US index trackers on Aug. 25, 2026?

As of the last trade at 20:00 GMT, the S&P 500 tracker SPY was at $765.91, up 0.32% from a prior close of $763.47. The Nasdaq 100 fund QQQ was at $710.72, up 0.62% from $706.32, and the Dow tracker DIA stood at $535.27, up 0.30% on the day.

What should investors watch before buying such a product?

Check the legal structure of the wrapper and who issues the underlying tokens, since that determines counterparty exposure. Check which investors are eligible and in which countries, as restrictions signal how regulators view the structure. Finally, compare the all-in cost, including trading spreads, against a mainstream index fund's fee.

Sources

• Introducing Next Evolution of ETFs: Rasmussen — Bloomberg Technology

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