Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust Approved by SEC, Pending S-1 Registration

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has greenlighted the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, a scaled-down version of Grayscale’s flagship Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

The approval, granted on Friday, specifically pertains to the 19b-4 form for the new trust, according to an official filing.

The mini trust, which will trade under the ticker symbol “BTC,” is envisioned as a spin-off from GBTC.

GBTC Shareholders to Receive New Shares of the Mini Trust

According to an S-1 filing from March, GBTC shareholders will receive new shares of the mini trust as GBTC allocates a portion of its bitcoin holdings to this new entity.

“The Commission finds that the proposals, similar to other exchange-traded products (ETPs) it has approved, are designed to ensure fair disclosure of information necessary for accurate pricing of the trust’s shares, prevent trading in opaque conditions, protect non-public material information about the trust’s portfolios, and maintain fair and orderly markets for the trust’s shares,” the SEC said.

Despite the SEC’s approval, Grayscale is still awaiting the effectiveness of the registration statement for the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust.

At 0.15%, management fees for the Mini Trust are some 10x less than those of Grayscale's older GBTC fund, which charges an annual fee equal to 1.5% of assets under management (AUM).

The development follows the SEC’s approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs over seven months ago, which have collectively attracted millions of dollars.

More recently, the SEC also surprised the market by approving spot Ethereum ETFs.

Grayscale has received approval for both spot Ethereum and spot Bitcoin ETFs.

On July 8, Grayscale announced a similar move with its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) ETF, with existing ETHE shareholders receiving proportional distributions of shares in its new Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH).

Grayscale is excited to announce the launch of Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust, ticker: $ETH. Investors can get #Ethereum exposure in their portfolio at 0% fee for the first six months*.

Our flagship Ethereum fund, Grayscale Ethereum Trust, ticker: $ETHE also uplisted to @NYSE. pic.twitter.com/tRKsQILVvW

— Grayscale (@Grayscale) July 23, 2024

Jersey City's Pension Fund to Invest in Bitcoin ETFs

The municipal pension plan of Jersey City, New Jersey, is set to allocate part of the city's pension fund to crypto ETFs.

The municipal pension fund, known as the Employees Retirement System of Jersey City, is currently navigating regulatory requirements with the SEC to integrate a portion of its assets into Bitcoin ETFs.

While specific details regarding the allocated percentage of pension funds to Bitcoin ETFs remain undisclosed, Mayor Fulop hinted that Jersey City's approach would mirror Wisconsin's state pension fund, which committed a 2% allocation to Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.

As reported, quantitative fund Kbit believes that greater returns lie within the digital asset space itself as hedge funds turn to traditional strategies like the basis trade to capitalize on the recent surge of crypto ETFs.

"The larger opportunities, higher return opportunities are in the crypto native markets," said Ed Tolson, founder and CEO of Kbit, during a recent interview.

Tolson emphasized the importance of engaging with centralized crypto exchanges and trading various crypto instruments, including tokens, perpetual swaps, and derivatives.

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