Grayscale Bitcoin Trust nears 2023 highs on BlackRock ETF filing as buyers step up

BlackRock’s plans for Bitcoin (BTC) seem to have triggered a surge in the original institutional BTC investment option.

CoinGlass monitoring data reveals that on June 17th, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) nearly achieved a new high for the year 2023.

GBTC “premium” heads below -37%

The sentiment in the Bitcoin market saw a slight uptick at the end of last week when it was revealed that the world’s preeminent asset manager, BlackRock, had put in an application to create a Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Some suggest that a spot ETF from a well-known company like BlackRock may have a better chance of overcoming the legal obstacles preventing it from being allowed in the United States.

Meanwhile, there are increasing indications of optimism that are more than just sentiment – GBTC, which has been trading at a large discount to the spot price of BTC, is trending upwards.

CoinGlass reports that the GBTC share prices are currently characterized by a discount, or negative “premium,” of -36.6%.

GBTC is still heavily discounted, but trades closer to zero than it has at any point in the year. For instance, on June 13th the discount was approximately -44%.

If the Blackrock ETF is indeed approved, $GBTC will be the real victor, according to Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, who expressed his opinion in a tweet over the weekend.

Cochran asserted that he believed BlackRock’s offering had a good chance of obtaining approval from U.S. regulators.

“This is a very different structure from other attempts by a giant company that never fails. It is a 30-act redeemable trust with redemptions (unlike GBTC) and a proposed rule change filing. They have certainly come prepared,” he added.

ARK yet to join latest buyers

The decision by BlackRock has already been met with debate, with market analysts debating whether it is truly an ETF or not.

What is causing the crypto market to rise today?

Some contend that it will be comparable to GBTC, while others, including Cochran, have a more subtle outlook.

“Cory Klippsten, CEO of Bitcoin financial services firm Swan, stated that it is alright to refer to it as an ETF,” summarised Klippsten.

Investor interest in GBTC is increasing, and one of the keen purchasers is hedge fund North Rock Digital.

“Since BlackRock, we have been steadily accruing more of the greyscale trusts,” the announcement declared.

One major shareholder that has yet to increase their position is ARK Invest, which still holds approximately 5.37 million GBTC shares.

Data from Cathie’s ARK, a website devoted to tracking the investments of ARK CEO Cathie Wood, shows that her holdings have been gradually decreasing since 2023.

Gary Gensler’s position in jeopardy, BlackRock’s initial Bitcoin ETF and other news: Hodler’s Digest, June 11th-17th.

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