Bitwise executes XRP carry trade using 97.5% hedge

Bitwise is utilizing an institutional carry trade strategy through its Crypto Carry Fund (USCC) to monetize the premium between XRP spot prices and futures. The fund holds approximately 10.78 million XRP in custody while maintaining a short position of roughly 10.51 million XRP in September Coinbase XRP futures.

This strategy creates a 97.5% hedge, significantly minimizing exposure to XRP's directional price movements. By pairing the spot holdings with the short futures position, the fund aims to capture the yield generated by the premium. The current futures premium is approximately 0.91%, which translates to an implied annualized yield of 14.57%.

While the USCC fund focuses on this market-neutral basis trade, Bitwise also manages a separate XRP ETF that holds approximately 361,995,068 tokens valued at roughly $531.3 million, which consists solely of spot positions.