A total of $37.5 billion in independently invested Bitcoin as of March 2021, are held in the Grayscale BTC Trust. In October 2013, the trust was established by Grayscale, a US-based crypto investment company and one of the highest global buyers of Bitcoin. GBTC is its trading symbol.

According to Bitcointreasuries.org, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust owns 654,865 BTC, or 45% of the 1.5 million BTC owned by publicly traded companies. As of April 8, 2021, one share of GBTC is valued at $55.6 (or 0.00096 Bitcoin, the current market price).

Grayscale BTC Trust

Investors can purchase and sell shares in Grayscale BTC Trust through their online brokerage accounts. SEC reporting status was granted to the Trust on January 21, 2020, making it the first digital money investment vehicle. Shares were registered with the Commission on the same date. 

The mandatory time frame for shares acquired through a private placement is lowered from one year to 6 months under SEC guidelines. It will provide account holders who participated in the Trust’s share sale with an accelerated liquidity opportunity.

On September 26, 2013, Grayscale Investment Company launched the BTC Investment Trust. As a share sale to investors and later acquired authorization from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). To allow qualifying shares to sell publicly. It implies that the Trust’s public claims, denoted by GBTC, are available for purchase and sale. 

According to Grayscale Investments, this is a “classic” investment vehicle because the investor has sole legal ownership of the shares. The trust is not an exchange-traded fund (ETF), but Grayscale says it takes its inspiration from successful commodity investing offerings such as the SPDR Gold Trusts.

For businesses exempt from SEC registration requirements like GBTC, the OTC market OTCQX provides a public trading venue (SEC). Since its value is based entirely on Btc, its success tracks that of the leading cryptocurrency.

Roughly $2.15 billion in assets have been managed by GBTC since about September 2019. There were 2.5 million outstanding shares. Accredited investors can register to the Trust as shareholders for a minimum investment of $55,000 and a fee of 2.0% per year, compounded daily. When it comes to the GBTC public quote, however, buyers can buy as few as one share.

Grayscale ETFs Disrupt The Industry

Grayscale Investments recently launched its first exchange-traded fund (ETF), to invest in businesses contributing to the expansion of the digital economy.

According to Dave LaValle, the group’s corporate head of ETFs, the Grayscale Futures of Finance ETF isn’t interested in duplicating the performance of cryptocurrency markets. Instead, the focus is on investing in the companies changing the environment for digital assets.

Despite the prevalence of thematic items in the market, “I don’t think we’ve seen such a commodity emerge on the market similar to what we’re addressing here along with GFOF,” LaValle informed Blockworks. “Instead of trying to create a bitcoin-like stock exchange-traded fund (ETF), we are instead working to define what a virtual economy is.”

As of January 31, the firm managed $33.6 billion in assets, $26 billion of which were held inside the Grayscale BTC Trust (GBTC). Investments in GFOF, which trades on the NYSE, cost shareholders 70 basis points in fees annually. 

This fund aims to do as well as the Forbes Grayscale Futures of Finance Index. This puts money into companies that handle assets, trade, brokerage, and wealth management. That is an example of taking part in the new digital economy.

The benchmark also includes data and process optimization providers and mining and energy control infrastructure businesses. While LaValle acknowledges that individual investors, RIAs, and financial experts make up the bulk of conceptual ETF adopters. He believes that institutional investors will eventually get behind these products as well.

Regarding what the company might release in the future, LaValle said the company is “unburdened” in how it may expand its ETF franchise. Alternatively, “we might be a genuinely disruptive force and innovator in the industry. By questioning the existing norm about how ETFs are being formed and how to index techniques are being produced,” he said.

What Do Crypto ETFs Mean For The Industry?

The value of an item or index is tracked by an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Various commodities, currencies, and even entire industries can now be invested through exchange-traded funds.

The value of one BTC ETF stock would rise and fall in tandem with Bitcoin’s market price. The ETF will increase in value in tandem with Bitcoin’s price movement and vise – versa. But rather than being traded on a crypto market, the ETF would be listed on a traditional stock exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange or the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

Pros

• To gain exposure to Bitcoin’s price movement, investors can buy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) without understanding how Bitcoin works. Creating an account with a crypto exchange, or taking the risk of purchasing Bitcoin outright can come with more risk and volatility. If a Bitcoin owner loses access to their wallet because they forgot their password, all of their Bitcoins will be permanently destroyed. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or Bitcoin ETFs, make buying Bitcoin easier.

• Multi-asset ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, can hold many financial instruments. Investors can lower their overall portfolio risk by purchasing an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that contains many assets, not just Bitcoin. Similarly, a Bitcoin ETF allows investors to diversify their equities portfolios by investing in a regulated system exchange.

• Since Bitcoin is uncontrolled and decentralized, most tax havens and retirement plans prohibit its purchase. However, the SEC is expected to oversee and provide tax benefits for a Bitcoin ETF that trades on standard platforms.

Cons

• While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are designed to mirror the performance of a single underlying asset. They may contain a wide variety of securities. However, this means that the value of the payment fund may not correctly represent a 55% increase in the price of BTC due to other assets. The cost of Bitcoin might or might not be accurately tracked by an ETF, even though an ETF gives support to the price.

• ETFs typically have management fees because of the ease they give. As a result, holding a sizable position in a Bitcoin ETF may incur substantial administration fees over time.

• Bitcoin can be used as protection against the central bank, fiat currency, and the stock market. Bitcoin’s decentralization from traditional banking institutions means it can lessen some of the dangers inherent in that sector. Bitcoin’s network also protects customers’ and shareholders’ privacy. The government regulation accompanying a BTC ETF would wipe out any advantages it currently has.

To simulate the cryptocurrency’s price movement, most BTC ETFs use futures. Investing in crypto and blockchain organizations, which can support the crypto market, is another option to obtain awareness of Bitcoin without acquiring it.

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