The investment firm Wilshire Phoenix has filed an S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a publicly-traded Bitcoin Fund in line with regulation. The investment firm’s new BTC Commodity Trust aims to have its shares available for public trading on OTC Markets Group, Inc.’s OTCQX Best Marketplace. According to the filing, once issued, shares of the BTC trust can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like any other publicly traded security.
Wilshire aims to allow the retail public to buy Bitcoin via shares of stock.
The investment firm Wilshire’s Bitcoin Commodity Trust (BCT) aims to allow the retail public to buy Bitcoin via shares of stock on the mainstream market. Each share is backed by Bitcoin and priced according to Bitcoin’s going market rate. According to the filing, the value of the Bitcoin held by BCT will follow a BTC price index listed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate Index tracks BTC’s price across multiple industry exchanges, which is the same rate used by the CME to cash settle its regulated Bitcoin Futures. US SEC has rejected the firm’s BTC ETF proposal several times.
Wilshire Phoenix proposes a lower fee of 0.9%.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) bears a high premium that makes customers pay notably higher prices compared to buying actual Bitcoin on the crypto market. This includes a 2% annual fee for custody. But in the new filing, Wilshire Phoenix has proposed a lower fee of 0.9%. The investment firm’s filing states that except for transaction costs associated with the purchase and sale of bitcoin, the Trust’s primary recurring expense is expected to be the Sponsor’s fee which will be determined by applying an annual rate of 90 basis points (0.90%) to the Trust’s NAV (the ‘Sponsor’s Fee’).”
Wilshire Phoenix has named Fidelity Digital Assets for holding the fund’s underlying Bitcoin in custody, despite having a well-known relationship with Coinbase for so many years.
