We recently announced that NYSE Arca has filed Form 19b-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to uplist our flagship product, Grayscale® Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC), into a Bitcoin Spot ETF. This move was triggered by the SEC’s clearance of a Bitcoin Futures ETF — which we believe is an indication of the agency’s comfort in Bitcoin as an underlying asset.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust launched in 2013, received public quotation in May 2015, and became an SEC reporting company in January 2020. In becoming the first crypto SEC reporting investment vehicle, GBTC has helped move the entire digital currency ecosystem forward. Today, the Trust is the largest Bitcoin investment vehicle in the world, holding approximately 3.5% of all Bitcoin in circulation.
We have long been committed to uplisting GBTC, as well as our other 14 investment products, into ETFs. That’s why we’re proud to continue reflecting that commitment today by partnering with NYSE Arca to submit today’s filing to uplist GBTC into an ETF.
Since 2013, the Grayscale team has worked tirelessly to build the world’s largest, most transparent Bitcoin investment vehicle, GBTC, while partnering with policymakers and regulators to build familiarity and trust in Bitcoin, blockchain, and the underlying Bitcoin market. GBTC proves that there’s strong investor demand for physically-backed Bitcoin investment vehicles.
As we file to uplist GBTC into an ETF, the natural next step in this product’s evolution, we recognize this as an important moment for our investors, our industry partners, and all those who realize the potential of digital currencies to transform our future.
What happens now?
The good news for current holders of publicly-traded shares of GBTC is that they would not need to do anything with their shares should GBTC be cleared to uplist to an ETF. GBTC shareholders would see their shares automatically uplisted into shares of the ETF.
At Grayscale, we have long pioneered opportunities for new and existing investors to more readily access the ever-evolving digital currency asset class through familiar structures. Should our filing to uplist GBTC become effective, it would fold Bitcoin into the familiar protections of an ETF wrapper, ultimately providing investors with a choice in how they want to allocate their Bitcoin exposure.
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