The Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (the “Trust”) officially launched on Wednesday following approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), positioning itself as a more affordable alternative to the well-known Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
New Bitcoin Mini Trust Debuts
According to Bloomberg, the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, debuting with a 0.15% expense ratio, is currently the lowest-cost exchange-traded product holding Bitcoin in the US market, surpassing recent Bitcoin ETFs from industry leaders like BlackRock and Fidelity.
The new mini-trust is seeded with 10% of the assets from Grayscale’s largest fund, the GBTC, which converted to an ETF structure in January 2023 after over a decade as a closed-end investment product. Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, told Bloomberg:
“The timing is also excellent for investors. We have a Federal Reserve that is about to cut rates. Crypto has become an important topic in the US presidential election. The Trump platform may favor a weaker dollar, which could impact investors’ portfolios.”
Existing GBTC investors will automatically receive shares of the mini-trust on a pro-rata basis, giving them access to the lower-cost option. The launch of the Grayscale Mini Trust coincides with a wave of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF approvals in the US this year, marking a new era for crypto investing despite regulatory crackdowns targeting key industry players such as Binance, Coinbase, Uniswap Labs, and Ripple.
Related Reading: Grayscale’s Ethereum ETF Net Outflows Top $1.5 Billion After First Week
However, issuers of the Bitcoin ETFs approved in January have aggressively competed on fees, with some offering zero-fee products temporarily to attract assets. This has resulted in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust becoming the second-largest BTC fund behind BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which has accumulated $20 billion in total assets since its US listing in January.
Meanwhile, the GBTC has seen nearly $19 billion in outflows since its transition to an ETF structure and the commencement of trading earlier this year, along with eight other ETFs on the market.
Ethereum ETF Battle Heats Up
The crypto ETF landscape has expanded beyond just Bitcoin, with the SEC also approving several spot Ethereum funds in July. These nine US Ethereum ETFs saw a combined $33.67 million in net inflows on Tuesday, ending a four-day streak of outflows. Conversely, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) was the only spot Ether ETF to experience negative flows, losing $120.28 million. This loss was offset by strong inflows into products such as BlackRock’s ETHA, which saw $117.98 million in net new assets.
Grayscale has also launched the lower-fee Ethereum Mini Trust (GEMP), which has attracted $181 million in net inflows, while $1.8 billion has exited the higher-fee Grayscale Ethereum Trust.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency on the market, continues its consolidation, trading at $66,660, showing no change from Tuesday’s price.
David Ma was born in 1980 in California, is a Vietnamese American, known as one of the entrepreneurs and investors in the field of cryptocurrency and stock market. In 2006, he graduated from Stanford University with honors and began his career in business.
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