A company called Osprey Funds offers an over-the-counter or OTC Bitcoin Trust (BTC) under the ticker symbol OBTC. The trust is similar to Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, known as GBTC.
“The Osprey Bitcoin Trust offers easy access to Bitcoin,” the company’s website said. “With an administration fee of 0.49%, this is the most cost-effective solution.” Osprey is a company that “develops digital asset solutions for smart investors” and describes OBTC as a “flagship offering,” the website adds.
“OBTC was listed on the OTC market today, Friday, January 15th,” Greg King, CEO of Osprey Funds, told Cointelegraph, adding:
“As of January 14th, the product met the requirements to be listed on the OTC market under the ticker OBTC. For the next 30 days, the fund will pursue DTC eligibility and after February 14th all other market makers will be allowed write it down After this point, it will be considered “fully started”. “
Competitor Grayscale has grown to become one of the largest Bitcoin holders in the world and has over 500,000 BTC as of November 2020. The company is behind GBTC, which can be used to buy bitcoin in share form. Each GBTC share is equal to a fraction of a Bitcoin – 0.00094 BTC per share at the time of publication, based on Grayscale’s website. Interested parties buy and sell over-the-counter stocks available on major brokerage platforms.
In part, GBTC offers the public easier access to Bitcoin through more traditional avenues without the need for them to hold their own funds. However, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust has an annual management fee of 2%. Osprey’s recently revealed BTC trust touts a 0.49% fee. “According to Bloomberg Intelligence, Osprey is likely trying to gain some of that market share by undercutting the GBTC fee,” Bloomberg wrote in a report on Friday. Osprey has hired Fidelity to act as administrator for the company.
“We’re always excited about digital currency products entering the market, especially here in the United States,” Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein told Bloomberg.
“Accredited investors must invest at least $ 25,000 directly in the trust,” wrote Bloomberg. “Stocks have a one-year vesting period before they can be sold on the secondary market.” In contrast, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust requires assets to be frozen for six months. However, Osprey could cut his 12-month sentence in half in the future, based on King’s comments on Bloomberg.
The investment firm Wilshire Phoenix filed a similar product with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2020.
