- A Grayscale Bitcoin ETF could be on the cards after the company confirmed a commitment to converting their Bitcoin fund to an ETF
- Grayscale said in a blog post that a Bitcoin ETF was always the ultimate end goal for the GBTC Trust
- Grayscale applied for a Bitcoin ETF in 2016 but it was rejected
Grayscale, the Bitcoin fund that has over $30 billion in assets under management, has confirmed that it plans to convert its GBTC Trust to an ETF. The potential of a Grayscale Bitcoin ETF was raised last month when the company hired nine ETF specialists, with a blog post on its Medium account stating that a Grayscale Bitcoin ETF was always the end goal of the GBTC Trust, although the application could be delayed if the “regulatory environment” isn’t right.
Grayscale Bitcoin ETF is Pinnacle of GBTC Trust
Grayscale pointed to its product lifecycle to explain the move towards a Bitcoin ETF, stating that, “Each Grayscale product is at various stages of this lifecycle and our intention has always been to convert these products into an ETF when permissible.” As the chart on the post shows, Grayscale feels that the Bitcoin and possibly also the Ethereum trusts are at the point where ETFs can be considered:
Keen to show that they knew the band before they were cool, Grayscale also pointed out that “the public discourse around ETFs may seem novel and impactful, but this is a subject that Grayscale has been examining closely from both a commercial and regulatory perspective for several years”. This statement has some merit however as a Grayscale Bitcoin ETF application was made in 2016, although it was rejected the following year.
Company to Wait for Right Regulatory Environment
There is no sign that a Grayscale Bitcoin ETF will be applied for in the immediate future however as “the timing will be driven by the regulatory environment”, and with three Bitcoin ETF applications already with the Securities and Exchange Commission for consideration, there will be some test cases coming up in the near future.
