From a structural point of view, the currently hotly discussed fund products related to Bitcoin spot in the market are usually divided into Two types are being discussed: one is a Bitcoin trust fund product represented by Grayscale GBTC; the other is a true Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund represented by the iShares Bitcoin Trust applied for by BlackRock.
They are all based on Bitcoin spot and track the market price of Bitcoin. But the difference is that GBTC does not have a redemption function; while Bitcoin spot ETF can redeem Bitcoin spot at any time.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) developed by Grayscale is theoretically the first compliant Bitcoin spot on the market fund products. It is essentially a trust fund.
To put it simply, there are two subscription methods for GBTC: physical subscription and cash subscription.
After subscribing for GBTC, investors will experience a 6-month lock-up period, and are not allowed to redeem Bitcoins from Grayscale after unlocking. In other words, the exchange mechanism of GBTC is one-way, you can only exchange it out but not back. It can only be traded on the secondary market.
This means that GBTC is essentially decoupled from Bitcoin, and its price mainly depends on transactions in the secondary market.
When the market is booming, GBTC will generate a positive premium and the total market capitalization of GBTC will exceed the value of the Bitcoin within the trust. And when the market is down, GBTC will generate a negative premium, that is, the total market value of GBTC is lower than the value of the Bitcoins in the trust.
In other words, the market value of GBTC cannot anchor the market value of locked Bitcoin. Therefore, GBTC cannot be counted as a Bitcoin spot ETF, nor is it a "perfect" Bitcoin spot fund product.
The Bitcoin Spot ETF is an exchange-traded fund product whose price is closely linked to the Bitcoin price index. It tracks the real-time market price of Bitcoin, and Bitcoin spot can be redeemed at any time. In other words, compared with GBTC, the Bitcoin spot ETF will basically not have premium or discount problems, and its price will be closer to the market price of Bitcoin.
In addition, Bitcoin spot ETF fees are also cheaper, usually between 0.5-1%; while GBTC’s annual management fee is 2%, almost double that of spot ETFs. And there is no lock-up period for Bitcoin ETFs, and the liquidity is stronger.
Overall, Bitcoin spot ETFs outperform GBTC in terms of price tracking, fees, and more. At the same time, like GBTC, it can help investors make compliant Bitcoin investments without actually purchasing and keeping Bitcoins.
However, it is worth noting that due to the impact of supervision, price manipulation risks and other factors, the SEC has not yet approved any ETF products that hold Bitcoin spot. In other words, as of now, there are no real Bitcoin spot ETFs listed in the United States.