Key Points
- Grayscale discloses plans for a new Bitcoin Mini Trust, aiming to charge a competitive fee of 0.15%.
- The trust would initially hold 63,620 Bitcoin, making it the fourth largest spot Bitcoin ETF by AUM.
Grayscale, a prominent financial institution, has shared information about its forthcoming fund, the Bitcoin Mini Trust. This trust is set to be listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker BTC, with an industry-low fee of .15%.
Introduction of the Bitcoin Mini Trust
The Bitcoin Mini Trust was first introduced in March as a way for Grayscale to allocate some of the cryptocurrencies from Bitcoin's oldest exchange-traded product to a smaller trust. The smaller trust would charge lower fees without causing a taxable event for current holders. The shares are set to be automatically distributed to the holders, though the record date is yet to be announced.
Based on its recent pro forma financial statement, Grayscale intends to allocate 63,620 Bitcoin to the fund's initial distribution. This represents 10% of the Bitcoin owned by GBTC at the beginning of the year, which is approximately valued at $4 billion at current prices. The two trusts will then operate independently and won't share any exposure, as per the preliminary filing.
Lowest Fee in the Industry
The proposed fee of .15% for the Mini Trust would make it the most competitive in the industry. This is slightly lower than the fee charged by Franklin Templeton's EZBC. However, the calculation could be complicated by fee waivers and other benefits. The current fee for GBTC is 1.5%, which is the highest among the spot Bitcoin ETFs in the market.
If the trust were to be established today, its assets of $4 billion would make it the fourth largest spot Bitcoin ETF by AUM. It would sit behind Fidelity's FBTC and BlackRock's IBIT, which would become the new leader given GBTC's disbursement.
