Original author: Lucy
Original source: BlockBeats
According to the latest data on October 18, GBTC has a negative premium rate of 12.98%. However, looking back at the beginning of February this year, GBTC's negative premium was still 46.02%, and GBTC's secondary market price has increased by 171.67% since the beginning of the year. This is its closest trading price to the net asset value since December 2021.
BlockBeats interviewed a new fund, NextGenDigital Venture, in the middle of this year. The first big move after its establishment at the beginning of the year was to invest in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC, which was gradually "forgotten" by the market at that time. They believed that with the end of the U.S. dollar interest rate hike cycle, it was a good time to allocate GBTC. Produces better Alpha returns than Bitcoin.
"After research, we found that we can provide a channel to obtain GBTC, which is also the prototype of Next Generation Fund I. We believe that at this cycle stage, Bitcoin can be purchased at a 40% discount, with our derivatives and on-chain data monitoring team , is the best cryptocurrency allocation for most people," said Christian, co-founder of NGV.
Looking at it today, NextGenDigital Venture’s judgment at the time was very correct. We also all know that since the beginning of the year, the price of GBTC has been getting higher and higher, and the negative premium rate has shrunk significantly. Especially after Grayscale won the lawsuit, the SEC faced multiple pressures, and the day when the Bitcoin spot ETF was passed seemed to be getting closer and closer to us.
After Grayscale won the lawsuit, the SEC gradually softened its attitude
Since June last year, Grayscale has been engaged in a lawsuit with the SEC over the launch of a Bitcoin spot ETF. Amid Grayscale’s tug-of-war with the SEC, there is increasing discussion about a Bitcoin ETF.
As one of the first traditional financial institutions to enter the cryptocurrency market, Grayscale has been preparing to apply to convert its Bitcoin Trust GBTC into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) since October 2020. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) assets under management have grown better than most U.S.-registered ETFs.
On August 30, according to finance.yahoo data, Grayscale’s victory against the SEC allowed its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Fund (GBTC) to usher in its busiest trading period in 14 months, with nearly 20 million shares of GBTC traded in one day. Shares changed hands, reaching levels not seen since the crypto market crashed in June 2022, while GBTC shares also rose 18% to nearly $21.
Then on October 16, Grayscale issued a statement in response to the U.S. SEC’s decision not to seek an appeal, saying: “The 45-day period for seeking retrial stipulated in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure has expired. The court will issue a final authorization within 7 days. Grayscale team Ready to convert GBTC to ETF once SEC approval is obtained.”
Last week, Grayscale submitted updated documents for GBTC, “which basically registers the fund under the Securities Act of 1933.” Bloomberg ETF analyst Seyffart said the filing is a necessary step in GBTC's conversion to an ETF. This doesn't indicate a timetable, but it's definitely a positive sign.
In a recent interview, SEC Chairman Gensler’s attitude towards BTC spot ETFs has changed dramatically. Gary Gensler said staff is “considering” multiple BTC spot ETFs, stressing that proponents of Bitcoin ETFs must ensure their products are registered with the SEC and go through a filing process similar to a public offering.
The U.S. federal court’s decision also signals a change in the SEC’s tough stance on Bitcoin spot ETFs. At the end of August, Grayscale scored an important victory in its dispute with the SEC over its Bitcoin spot ETF. A three-judge appellate panel in Washington overturned the SEC's decision to block the Grayscale ETF, according to court filings. The court stated that “the rejection of Grayscale’s proposal was arbitrary and capricious because the SEC failed to explain the different treatment of similar products.”
Buy less and sell more, is ARK taking the opportunity to reduce its holdings of GBTC?
At the same time, it is worth noting that according to ARK Fund holdings data, ARK Fund reduced its holdings by a total of 1.46242 million GBTC in October without any purchases.
As of Friday's close, GBTC closed at $22.45. Based on the closing price, ARK Fund reduced its holdings worth approximately $3.28 million in October.
Image source: ark.alien-tomato
Not just in October, in the past three months, ARK has been buying less and selling more, and seems to be gradually reducing its holdings of GBTC:
In September, 11,249 GBTC were bought, but 674.94 million GBTC were sold.
In August, 106,413,910 GBTC were bought, but 108,776,240 GBTC were sold.
Many people have raised questions. The market price of GBTC is on an upward trend, but ARK has been buying less and selling more. What is the reason? Did Sister Mumu sell out again? After all, ARK's "taken advantage" operation is not only GBTC. In Sister Mu's investment performance, she also sold NVIDIA.
Not only GBTC, but Mujie also sells Feiyuhuida
When ARK was founded in 2014, one of the key holdings of ARK's flagship fund was Huida. Data shows that since the establishment of ARKK, Huida has contributed 13% of the fund’s 112% total return, second only to Tesla (211.99, -8.12, -3.69%) (TSLA.US) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.US) and Invitae (NVTA.US).
But in early January, Sister Mumu liquidated her shares in Huida (NVDA.US). However, what Sister Mumu did not expect was that the artificial intelligence craze hit quickly, pushing up the stock price of this stock and other large technology stocks. The chipmaker's market value has increased by about $560 billion since Wood sold off Huida stock, $200 billion of which surged overnight after the company reported earnings that beat forecasts.
The ARKK flagship fund held more than 750,000 shares of Huida last October when it began to rebound from its lowest levels since August 2020, data shows. Wood reduced the position to just under 39,000 shares in late November and dropped it to zero by mid-January. Despite its focus on disruptive innovation, ARK's flagship fund holds few of the artificial intelligence-related stocks that have soared this year.
Is ARK gearing up for its own ETF?
According to Tradingview data, since August, the ARK Ark Fund has shown a continuous decline, but Sister Mu seems to have other ideas and began to prepare her own Bitcoin ETF.
On August 25 this year, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote that ARK Invest and 21Shares jointly submitted two Ethereum futures ETF applications, one of which is the Ethereum futures ETF with the code ARKZ, and the other is Bitcoin. +Ethereum Futures ETF, codenamed ARKY.
On September 20, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest announced that it had acquired Rize ETF, a European ETF issuer. The specific acquisition amount was not disclosed. The acquisition will give ARK access to the European ETF market and the Rize ETF team will join ARK.
On October 12, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on the social platform that ARK had just submitted an updated prospectus for its Bitcoin spot ETF. A few weeks ago, the SEC emailed issuers with comments and questions regarding Form S-1. It is likely that ARK has responded to these issues in this submission. He said that while approval may not come immediately, this "back and forth" with the SEC is a very positive sign.
Combined with these backgrounds, although the sales in Huida were huge, many people speculated that the reason why the shrewd sister Mu started to reduce her position in GBTC this time may be to prepare for her own Bitcoin spot ETF fund. After all, the Bitcoin spot ETF It is only a matter of time before it passes.
(The above content is excerpted and reprinted with the authorization of partner MarsBit, original text link | Source: BlockBeats)
Statement: The article only represents the author's personal views and opinions, and does not represent the objective views and positions of the blockchain. All contents and opinions are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Investors should make their own decisions and transactions, and the author and Blockchain Client will not be held responsible for any direct or indirect losses caused by investors' transactions.
This article ARK continues to reduce its holdings of GBTC: Sister Mu is "getting off the bus early" again? First appeared in Block Guest.
