New York-based cryptocurrency fund provider Grayscale, has been at the forefront of providing institutional players safe and regulated investment options in cryptocurrencies without directly buying into the market.
The company has been offering several crypto products for OTC trading, the latest being shares of Grayscale Investments’ Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin trusts for trading on OTC Markets.
A press release from the firm on August 17 states that its Bitcoin Cash Trust and Litecoin Trust are now available to trade on over-the-counter (OTC) markets under the BCHG and LTCN symbols.
The new additions have joined the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Ethereum Trust (ETHE), Ethereum Classic Trust (ETCG), and Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) as being publicly tradable.
US securities investors would now be exposed to the price movements of the underlying assets without having to worry about buying, storing, and safekeeping BCH or LTC directly.
The investment company received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FNRA) for its Bitcoin Cash Trust and Litecoin Trust for public trading, in late July, making it the first publicly-quoted securities in the U.S. deriving value from Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC).
Prior to public listing, these trusts were only available to professional investors. Until July 31, 2020, 6,028,000 shares were outstanding for BCHG with each share representing ownership of 0.00941311 BCH, while LTCN had 2,500,800 shares with each share representing ownership of 0.09413112 LTC.
The company also offers shares for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin are the company’s fifth and sixth publicly-quoted cryptocurrency products.
Horizen (ZEN), Stellar Lumens (XLM), XRP, and Zcash (ZEC), are also offered for trading via a trust at the firm.
Demand for crypto among institutional players
Grayscale has seen massive demand for crypto-based investment options in the institutional space. The firm saw over $1.4bln in investments pouring into the company’s accounts as quarterly earnings. More than $900 million was raised in the second quarter of 2020 alone.
The value of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust also reportedly increased by $1.6 billion in the first half of 2020.
As reported by The Daily Chain, the firm recently filed a registration statement on Form 10 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its Ethereum Trust.
If approved, the trust would be designated as an SEC reporting company and would be required to file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K.
