The discount rate for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the world’s largest listed bitcoin fund, shrunk on June 16 to its lowest level in nearly a month. On the 15th of the previous day, BlackRock, a major asset management company, applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Bitcoin ETF (Exchange Traded Fund).
As of this writing, GBTC has risen more than 8% to around $14 over the past 24 hours, outpacing Bitcoin (BTC) over the same period, according to TradingView data. Bitcoin was up about 3.5%.
The current discount rate is about 40%. This is the lowest discount rate since mid-May, according to YCharts. That’s an improvement from the 44% recorded earlier this week, but still big compared to 35% earlier this spring.
Expectations for BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application
The news that BlackRock, the world’s largest ETF issuer and industry leader in traditional finance (TradFi), has filed a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC has attracted industry attention as to how the GBTC discount rate will react. rice field.
Several investment managers, including WisdomTree Investments, VanEck, and Ark Investment Management in partnership with 21Shares, have applied for bitcoin ETFs over the past two years. However, the SEC has so far denied all applications.
But analysts said the filing could be a game changer given BlackRock’s influence and track record. Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted that BlackRock has achieved regulatory approval for 575 ETFs and only one has been denied.
Previously traded at premium
Grayscale, which is owned by the Digital Currency Group (DCG) like CoinDesk, is currently in court with the SEC over its decision to deny conversion of GBTC to an ETF. GBTC is a non-redeemable type of fund, and investors can only sell the fund on the secondary market, giving rise to the so-called “GBTC discount.”
GBTC traded at a significant premium to Bitcoin during the crypto market recovery of the last few years. Notably, crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) invested heavily to profit from the premium. But last year, when the market crashed, the fund’s value turned to a discount, resulting in big losses.
｜Translation: coindesk JAPAN
｜Editing: Rinan Hayashi
| Image: Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk
｜Original: GBTC Discount Narrows After BlackRock’s Filing for Spot Bitcoin ETF
