New York-based asset manager Grayscale has reiterated its commitment to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a publicly-traded fund listed on a stock exchange.
The statement comes in the wake of a heated race to deliver the first Bitcoin Exchange-traded Fund (ETF) in the United States, with many traditional institutions already in the running.
Within the first quarter of the year, VanEck, Bitwise, WisdomTree Investments, New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), Valkyrie Digital Assets, and a handful of others have all filed for a Bitcoin ETF.
The approval of such a publicly-traded product will provide stern competition for Grayscale’s GBTC product, which trades privately, often at a premium to Bitcoin’s actual market price, and with high management fees. Being the solo product in an emerging market, GBTC has amassed $34 billion in assets under management but faces its first real threat with the possible launch of a Bitcoin ETF in the US market.
However, Grayscale acknowledged in a Monday update that the company remains “100% committed to converting GBTC into an ETF.” In its cycle of moving a product from private placement to public trading, Grayscale is only one step away from giving GBTC ETF status, having attained an SEC reporting status for the product.
Regarding ongoing efforts by competitors, Grayscale wrote:
While several firms have submitted Bitcoin ETF applications in the form of an S-1 or 19b-4 to the SEC, we are confident in our current positioning and engagement with the SEC.
The Wait for the First U.S. Bitcoin ETF Continues
Grayscale’s last attempt to launch a Bitcoin ETF was in 2016, with the company eventually withdrawing its application after determining from conversations with the SEC that the market wasn’t ripe for such an offering.
To date, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected several applications to launch a Bitcoin ETF, arguing often that the market is highly volatile and manipulated. However, with the recent uptake of corporations and institutions pouring money into Bitcoin, hopes are really high that approval will happen sooner rather than later.
