According to Blockworks, Grayscale is planning to launch a new, smaller fund called the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, which would trade under the ticker BTC. The Securities and Exchange Commission will need to approve the fund before it can officially launch. A person familiar with the matter revealed that the fee for BTC will be lower than GBTC's 1.5% fee and would be competitive with other bitcoin ETF fees.
GBTC will seed BTC, and a certain percentage of the bitcoins will be allocated to the new fund. A Grayscale spokesperson stated that the company aims to continually provide investors with compelling, future-forward opportunities to access Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem. The spin-off will not be a taxable event for shareholders, meaning that GBTC investors will not pay capital gains.
Grayscale's approach is unique, as the fund appears to be the first to use the spin-off mechanism on a commodities ETF. Grayscale's bitcoin ETF currently has the highest fee of all the bitcoin ETFs on the market and has seen the highest level of outflows of the group. The company converted its bitcoin trust to a bitcoin ETF in January, putting the fund slightly ahead of the rest of the pack. However, as of last week, the other nine funds have collectively surpassed GBTC in assets under management.
