The Creator Of GBTC Launches New Products For Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin And XRP

Grayscale Investments, the firm that runs the popular Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC, has announced it's launching four new funds focused on other popular cryptocurrencies.

What Happened

Grayscale said it's launching a Bitcoin Cash Investment Trust, an Ethereum Investment Trust, a Litecoin Investment Trust and an XRP Investment Trust, presumably all structured in a similar way as the Bitcoin Investment Trust.

“Our team is committed to bridging the gap between the global investment community and the digital currency asset class,” Grayscale managing director Michael Sonnenshein said in a statement.

Why It's Important

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin are the five largest global cryptocurrencies by market cap and represent the only five digital currencies valued at more than $1 billion each.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange has yet to approve a cryptocurrency fund for listing on a major U.S. exchange, leaving the GBTC fund as one of the only games in town for traders. As the popularity of bitcoin has skyrocketed in the past year, so too has the GBTC fund. The GBTC fund is now up 1,150 percent in the past year.

Bitcoin prices have cooled since peaking at around $19,000 in December. Bitcoin was priced at just under $10,900 in Tuesday afternoon trading.

What's Next

Unfortunately for retail investors, only qualified investors can participate in the new funds’ private placements, and all of the private placement shares are subject to a one-year holding period. In other words, it may be a year before shares of the new funds begin trading on the OTC market along with shares of the Bitcoin Investment Trust.

Qualified investors who wish to receive more information on the new cryptocurrency funds should contact Grayscale to receive a copy of the private placement memorandum for each fund.

Related Links:

How The Bitcoin Investment Trust Actually Works

Does Bitcoin Actually Hold Any Value At All?