Gray Investments Meets with SEC to Discuss Spot Bitcoin ETF Details

Greyscale Investments, a prominent cryptocurrency asset manager, is making significant progress in its efforts to convert the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The company recently held a crucial meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the details of the shares related to the product.

Grayscale will contact the SEC to discuss listing issues.

According to a memo published by the SEC, Grayscale Investments met with officials from the SEC's Division of Commerce and Markets to discuss issues related to the product's shares.

“The discussion concerns NYSE Arca, Inc.'s proposed change to list and trade shares of Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E,” the memo said.

The meeting follows Grayscale's filing of a new registration statement with the SEC last month in an attempt to convert its fiduciary product into a bitcoin ETF. A significant development prior to this meeting was a formal order issued by the D.C. Circuit Court directing the regulator to reevaluate the company's application.

Greyscale's strategic partnership with BNY Mellon

Grayscale has agreed with Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), according to an earlier release. In this role, the bank oversees and facilitates the issuance and redemption of shares and manages Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shareholder accounts.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seifert On November 21, he shared insights on X regarding the role of the Trading and Markets Section in approving or disallowing Section 19b-4s, the form used by self-regulatory firms to report to the SEC. Seyffart said Greyscale's deal with BNY Mellon could be an important step and should not be seen as an indication of GBTC's imminent turnaround.

Scott suggested a transfer agent deal with BNY Mellon today for $GBTC 8K because he clearly has eyes everywhere. That said, this compromise may have always been desirable at some point. It says nothing about timing IMO.

— James Seyff (@JSeyff) November 21, 2023

Greyscale intends to list its shares of the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust on the NYSE Arca under the symbol GBTC. As described in the S-3 filing filed on October 19, the S-3 filing of these shares and a separate 19b-4 filing with NYSE Arca will be made on an ongoing basis.

James Seifert has hinted at other potential areas of SEC dealings in recent weeks with bitcoin ETF issuers, pointing to a broader trend in the cryptocurrency industry.