The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a mini version of Grayscale’s Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) on Friday.
The agency specifically approved Form 19b-4 for the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust. The trust, which will begin with the ticker symbol “BTC,” will be a “spinoff” of GBTC and will include new shares of the mini trust that are designed to be distributed to GBTC shareholders as GBTC contributes a certain amount of bitcoin to the trust, according to the S-1. filing Posted in March.
“Accordingly, the Commission finds that the Proposal, like other ETPs approved by the Commission, is reasonably designed to facilitate the fair disclosure of information that may be necessary to establish a fair price for the Trust’s Shares, prevent trading when a reasonable level of transparency cannot be ensured, protect material nonpublic information related to the Trust’s portfolio, and ensure a fair and orderly market for the Trust’s Shares.” document Submitted on Friday.
A Grayscale spokesperson said the company is waiting for the registration application for the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust to become effective.
“Grayscale is awaiting the effectiveness of the BTC Registration Statement on Form S-1,” the spokesperson said. “Upon the approval and effectiveness of the Registration Statement, BTC will be able to operate as a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETP alongside GBTC and others. The Grayscale team will share more information regarding the listing date of the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust on NYSE Arca as soon as possible.”
This is the first time the SEC Approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs that have made millions of dollars so far. The agency also Approved Earlier this year, in a surprising move, a spot Ethereum ETF was approved. Grayscale received approval for both a spot Ethereum ETF and a spot Bitcoin ETF.
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About the Author
Sarah is a reporter covering policy, regulation, and legal issues for The Block. Previously, Sarah was a securities regulation reporter at CQ Legal, where she first began reporting on cryptocurrencies. Sarah has also written for other financial publications, including The Bond Buyer and American Banker. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah lives in Washington, D.C., and is an avid coffee drinker. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.