Cryptocurrency fund management company Grayscale Investments has announced its full readiness to transform the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for bitcoin after the consent of the SEC. Grayscale Investments intends to re-apply to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded index fund. This fund will provide traditional investors with access to BTC without having to own the asset itself.
There are certain difficulties here. In recent years, the SEC has rejected about a dozen applications from companies wishing to launch a cryptocurrency ETF. The agency believes that the emergence of such ETFs will lead to an increase in market manipulation, which will negatively affect the rate of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the launch of a Bitcoin ETF in the United States is still a coveted goal of many cryptocurrency companies and a subject of active discussion among participants in the cryptocurrency industry.
Grayscale Investments first approached the regulator regarding the registration of ETFs for Bitcoin back in 2016, and the whole of 2017 was spent in discussions on this issue with the SEC. In the end, the company was forced to withdraw its application, as the US regulatory framework for digital assets has not yet reached the level that would allow such a product to be successfully introduced to the market. Grayscale has now stated that it is “100% ready to convert GBTC to Bitcoin ETF.” The company hopes that the new SEC chairman will allow investors to trade Bitcoin products. In addition, the positive experience of Canada can also play a certain role – this year the Ontario Securities Commission has already approved three such ETFs.
GBTC shares have been trading below the bitcoin rate for more than a month. If Grayscale receives permission to convert the GBTC trust into an exchange traded fund for bitcoin, then the shareholders of the trust will be able to convert securities to this cryptocurrency and vice versa, and the asset management fees will be reduced.
As a reminder, Grayscale Investments launched five new crypto funds last month, giving investors access to trusts for crypto assets BAT, LINK, MANA, FIL and LPT.
