WisdomTree, a US-listed fund company, submits Bitcoin ETF application to SEC

WisdomTree (NASDAQ: WETF), a US-listed fund company, has submitted a Bitcoin ETF application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), named WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust. The fund plans to be listed and traded on Cboe BZX Exchange with the trading code BTCW.

WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust is an exchange-traded fund. Wisdomtree Digital Commodity Services LLC is the sponsor of the trust and Delaware Trust Company is the trustee of the trust.

According to the S-1 filing, the trust's investment objective is to gain exposure to the price of Bitcoin and reduce the expenses and liabilities of the trust's operations. To seek to achieve its investment objective, the trust will hold Bitcoin and will value its shares daily based on the CME CF Bitcoin US Settlement Price, which calculates prices based on trading volume on major Bitcoin spot exchanges.

The Trust does not currently intend to buy or sell Bitcoin directly, except in the event of liquidation or special circumstances, although the Sponsor may instruct the Bitcoin Custodian to sell Bitcoin to pay certain expenses. Instead, when the Trust sells or redeems its shares, it will do so in “in-kind” on a per-share basis, based on the number of Bitcoins that the Trust may hold per share.

Financial firms authorized to purchase or redeem shares in the trust (called “authorized participants”) will deliver bitcoin to a bitcoin custodian account when they purchase shares in exchange for the shares they purchase.

Investors who decide to buy or sell shares of the Trust will place their trade orders through their brokers and may incur brokerage commissions and fees. Investors who buy or sell shares from their brokers on the same day may trade at a premium or discount to the net asset value of the Trust's shares. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for these shares. Investing in the Trust involves risks similar to those of investing directly in Bitcoin, as well as other significant risks.

The offering of the Trust's shares has been registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Securities Act of 1933. The offering is intended to be a continuing offering and is not expected to be terminated until all of the registered shares are sold or three years from the date of the initial offering, unless an extension of the offering period is permitted under applicable rules of the 1933 Act.

The recent approval of a Bitcoin ETF in Canada has some market observers hoping that the U.S. will soon follow suit. The application submitted by WisdomTree, like other Bitcoin ETF applications in the U.S., including VanEck, is also intended to be traded on the Cboe exchange.

Image source: WisdomTree, SEC

byAmy Liu