Bitwise Asset Management announced on October 2, 2025, the launch of two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to generate monthly income using covered call strategies.
The new products are the Bitwise CRCL Option Income Strategy ETF (ICRC), which writes options on shares of Circle (CRCL), and the Bitwise Ethereum Option Income Strategy ETF (IETH), which applies the same approach to spot Ether ETPs.
ETFs to generate yield
The two new funds employ a covered call strategy to generate returns. This approach involves holding underlying assets—in this case, Circle (CRCL) stock or spot Ether exchange-traded products (ETPs)—while selling call options against those holdings.
The income is generated from the premiums collected from selling these options, which are then intended to be distributed to shareholders monthly.
This strategy provides regular income but caps the upside appreciation of the underlying assets, since it offers exposure through a familiar ETF wrapper.
An approach linking income strategy to a stablecoin issuer
The ICRC fund introduces a distinct strategy by linking its income generation to the stock of Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin.
This creates a connection between a traditional equity options strategy and the stablecoin sector. It follows other recent Bitwise initiatives, including a proposed stablecoin tokenization ETF, aimed at exploring new intersections between digital assets and traditional investment products.
Bitwise’s launch of covered call ETFs reflects a market for crypto-related investment products due to the firm the portfolio of income- and derivative-based funds, alongside other filings such as a HyperLiquid ETF tied to the HYPE token.
The launch of ICRC and IETH adds to the growing range of regulated strategies aimed at generating yield from crypto-related assets. Their performance will be watched as part of Bitwise’s broader expansion, which spans income products, tokenization-focused ETFs, and market research on industry trends such as stablecoin profitability.
Together, these initiatives reflect how asset managers are testing different approaches to integrate digital assets into mainstream investment frameworks.
Also read: Tether Could Outprofit Saudi Aramco in Profitability: Bitwise CIO
