- SEC has approved Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETFs
- With greater institutional adoption, GBTC aims to leverage the changing global financial markets
Following the successful Ethereum Mini Trust model, the SEC has now approved Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF. This will launch at a low 0.15% fee. From Wednesday next week, the Mini Trust will start trading, as reported by Nate Geraci. On his X page, he shared,
“Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust 19b-4 has been APPROVED…A spinoff from GBTC set to happen next Wednesday (date of record is Tuesday). Will be lowest cost spot bitcoin ETF at 15bps.”
SEC greenlights Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust
The SEC announced that the 19b-4 form for Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust will act as the spinoff of GBTC. The shares of the mini Trust will be distributed to GBTC shareholders since they contribute a particular amount of BTC to the said Trust, according to initial filings.
The commission, through the official document, announced the move, stating,
“After careful review, the Commission finds that the Proposals are consistent with the Exchange Act and rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange.”
The agency further explained,
“… are reasonably designed to promote fair disclosure of information that may be necessary to price the shares of the Trusts appropriately, to prevent trading when a reasonable degree of transparency cannot be assured, to safeguard material non-public information relating to the Trusts’ portfolios, and to ensure fair and orderly markets for the shares of the Trusts.”
However, Grayscale has to wait for the effectiveness of BTC’s registration statement on form S-1. This will allow BTC to open as a spot for Bitcoin ETP.
Reduced fees for competitive advantage
Since the approval of 11 spot BTC ETFs earlier this year, increased institutional interest has increased competition. Therefore, the Mini Trust will have a lower fee at only 15 basis points (15bps). The reduced fees aim to compete with other ETFs with lower fees such as Bitwise, which have a 0.2% in fees.
Therefore, the move will play a critical role in attracting investors while effectively competing with other ETFs as adopting these digital assets becomes a norm among institutional investors.
What SEC approval means for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust
Source: Google Finance
After the SEC’s approval, GBTC’s stock increased by 5.18% in 24 hours. In fact, according to Google Finance, GBTC’s stock has sustained an uptrend over the last 30 days or so too.
Total assets under management have continually increased over the last 30 days from $16.98 billion to $17.54 billion. This trend shows prevailing positive market sentiment towards BTC and greater institutional interest.
In fact, according to the prevailing market sentiment, BTC is now well positioned for growth because of the shifting international monetary systems. The shifts means higher BTC velocity as governments, institutions, and individuals continually integrate and adopt BTC.
Source: VanEck Research
With high geopolitical tensions, crypto and BTC will be used more, especially to bypass sanctions while settling international trade. Such changes will help BTC’s price. The surge will positively impact GBTC since its value depends on Bitcoin’s market volatility.
Source: CNAS
Implications for the crypto community
Notably, Grayscale BTC Mini Trust approval allows individual investors and institutions to invest with lower fees. With rising ETFs and ETPs, the need for an affordable rate allows customers to enter markets because of affordability while helping Grayscale attract more revenue.
Essentially, it allows investors to enter the market and access BTC in a secure and regulated manner.