Grayscale’s recent financial filing unveils fresh insights into its latest fund, the Bitcoin Mini Trust, slated for listing on NYSE Arca with the ticker BTC and boasting a competitive fee rate of 0.15%.
Initially unveiled in March, this spinoff trust offers Grayscale a means to transfer a portion of Bitcoin from its oldest exchange-traded product to a smaller trust with reduced fees, all without triggering taxable events for existing holders. Shares will be automatically distributed to holders as of the undisclosed record date.
As per the latest pro forma financial statement, Grayscale intends to contribute 63,620 Bitcoin towards the fund’s initial distribution, amounting to 10% of the Bitcoin held by GBTC at the year’s commencement, with a value approaching $4 billion at present prices. Both trusts will operate independently, with no shared exposure, as outlined in the preliminary filing.
The Mini Trust’s fee of 0.15% positions it as the industry’s lowest outright fee, marginally below Franklin Templeton’s EZBC, although fee waivers and other incentives add complexity to this comparison. Currently, GBTC carries a fee of 1.5%, the highest among spot Bitcoin ETFs in the market.
In the event of the trust’s immediate creation, its $4 billion in assets would rank it as the fourth largest spot Bitcoin ETF by AUM, trailing Fidelity’s FBTC and BlackRock’s IBIT, with the latter poised to take the lead following GBTC’s distribution.
