Bit by Bit... The March Towards a Bitcoin ETF

I'm at the point where I do believe we'll finally see the much awaited bitcoin ETF within the next 12-18 months. And it increasingly looks like Grayscale's Bitcoin Investment Trust will get the first nod.

The DCG-owned asset manager had previously filed a Form 10 with the SEC back in November in order to become an SEC reporting company, a first for a crypto index fund, and something that will open up access to the trust for a wider audience of accredited investors.

Grayscale's product has something going for it that alternative products do not: a sense of inevitability.

It's the largest crypto asset manager ($2.5bn+ in AUM), already quasi-public (GBTC trades on OTC markets and is available to retail via a "side-door" ETF), and has the longest history (first offered in mid-2013). The latest maneuver is voluntary, but it's clearly a savvy regulatory / compliance signal, and the company will begin to report 10-q's, 10-k's, and events driven disclosures immediately. (That includes audited financials.)

All that's left really is for the SEC to finally recognize that this quasi-public vehicle is already available, liquid, and widely coveted by retail investors, while at the same time, the Commission's own foot-dragging on an "official" ETF approval is quantifiably hurting those same investors by perpetuating the premium that exists on the publicly floated shares.

The status quo is only possible due to an exotic structure that literally no one wants to exist: something that's bad for investors, bad for Grayscale, and bad for the SEC itself.

At some point, common sense will have to prevail. It strikes me that will happen sooner rather than later based on this latest move.

-TBI