Bitcoin ETF provider Grayscale has provided some details of its spin-off fund, the Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), including a more competitive 0.15% fee than the uplisted mothership GBTC product, according to a pro forma financials in its latest filing.
The filing also provides an illustrative example of the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) Grayscale will contribute to the mini fund: 63,204 bitcoin, or 10% of existing assets in GBTC, as per the filing. Shares of the BTC trust are to be issued and distributed automatically to holders of GBTC shares. (Pro forma financial statements are projections of future expenses and revenues, based on a company's past experience and future plans.)
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust was conceived to offer GBTC investors a lower fee option that’s more competitively in line with other bitcoin ETFs approved back in January.
This spinoff is also considered a non-taxable event for GBTC’s existing shareholders, so those investors will not be expected to pay capital-gains tax to automatically transfer into the new fund. Some early stage GBTC investors with gains in the thousands of percentages would face a significant taxable event to switch to a competitor product with a lower fee.
Grayscale’s GBTC, which charges a relatively high fee of 1.5%, appeared over a decade ago originally offered through a private placement. In mid-2015, shares began trading publicly on an over-the-counter basis. This continued until January 2024 when GBTC uplisted to NYSE Arca as a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Grayscale’s current assets under management stands at around $19.6 billion; its nearest rival, which is BlackRock’s IBIT fund, has grown to just over $17.5 billion.
