2024-02-13 09:18:16 ET
Summary
- After the SEC approved US spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, the iShares Bitcoin ETF gathered the most assets of the newly approved funds.
- The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust also quickly erased its discount to net asset value shortly after the ETF conversion, cementing a huge win for patient investors who bought at a discount.
- GBTC still has ~$21 billion in assets despite charging 1.5% annually, while the ~$4 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF charges 0.12%, making IBIT a much better deal for investors.
- Investors may be simply complacent in leaving their money in GBTC or may be overestimating the benefits of tax deferral in some cases.
- The iShares Bitcoin ETF is likely to be a clear winner going forward relative to GBTC.
Last month, the SEC approved the conversion of a slew of spot Bitcoin ETFs, forever changing the crypto landscape. The move gave millions of investors an easy and secure way to invest in Bitcoin and unlocked billions of dollars in dead money in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Now the crypto world is fired up ahead of this year's highly anticipated Bitcoin halving . Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) itself has since surged to nearly $50,000. January's SEC ruling simultaneously approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. As expected, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has gathered the most assets of the new funds, followed by Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund ETF (FBTC). GBTC quickly erased its discount to net asset value after the ETF conversion, with the fund now trading a mere 0.02% from net asset value. This was a huge trade in the crypto and merger arbitrage worlds- GBTC at one point traded at an over 50% discount to the value of its assets when it was still a closed-end fund! Some brave investors were able to buy a dollar in Bitcoin for 50 cents investment in GBTC when that happened. But now, circumstances have changed so that GBTC is no longer the best way to invest in Bitcoin....
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Investors Won Big In Grayscale Bitcoin Trust: Now Switch To IBIT For 90% Lower Fees