Grayscale files for ‘mini’ spot Bitcoin ETF

Source: Cointelegraph

Grayscale has filed to register a new “mini” version of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) under the ticker symbol “BTC.”

The investment manager submitted an S-1 form to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 11. Subject to approval, the new Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and operate independently of Grayscale’s main GBTC fund.

The shares of the new Bitcoin BTC $72,767 trust are planned to be distributed to existing GBTC shareholders, as GBTC will also contribute an undisclosed amount of Bitcoin to the new trust, according to the filing.

The new trust aims to offer GBTC investors tax-free exposure to Bitcoin, according to a March 12 X post from Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart:

“There is no fee disclosed yet or what % of $GBTC will spin off but pretty sure this will be a non-taxable event for a chunk of those shares to get into a cheaper and cost-competitive product.”

ETFs in the spotlight, following Bitcoin’s all-time high

The filing was submitted on the same day Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $71,415 on March 11, three days after Ether breached the $4,000 mark for the first time since December 2021.

Following the all-time high, asset manager VanEck announced that it will reduce all sponsor fees to zero for the first $1.5 billion of funds in its Bitcoin Trust ETF until March 31, 2025.

The development comes a week after the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs set a new record of $10 billion in daily trading volume on March 5, surpassing the previous week’s record of $7.7 billion.

As for Ether ETH $4,028-based ETFs, the SEC’s ongoing silence is a negative sign for potential approval by May. Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas told Cointelegraph that he had downgraded the chances of an Ether ETF approval to just 35%. He said:

“The main thing is the fact that we’re 73 days from the final deadline, and there’s been no contact or comments from the SEC to the issuers. That’s not a good sign.”