According to CryptoPotato, Grayscale's Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF application is missing critical information that rival fund managers have already included in their applications. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that Grayscale has not yet confirmed which firms will be "authorized participants" (APs) for its Bitcoin ETF. APs are responsible for creating and redeeming shares of the ETF to maintain its price in line with BTC at all times. Grayscale stated that APs will only deliver and receive cash for such activities, rather than actual BTC, but left blank spaces where the APs should be named.
In June 2022, when applying for ETF approval, Grayscale announced that its APs would be market-making giants Jane Street and Virtu. However, Balchunas said that until the APs are officially named, he won't count any horse as official. He also questioned why Grayscale hasn't provided this information when other applicants like BlackRock and Fidelity have done so. The SEC has held numerous meetings with Grayscale, BlackRock, and other Bitcoin ETF applicants over the past three months and is expected to approve an ETF by January 10, the deadline for approving or denying the Ark/ 21Shares ETF application.
Last week, several fund sponsors updated their filings to include management fee rates, the annual cost imposed on investors to manage the BTC backing their shares. While applicants like Galaxy and Fidelity have revealed competitive 0.59% and 0.39% rates respectively, both Grayscale and BlackRock have yet to unveil their rates. Grayscale currently charges GBTC investors a 2% management fee, but CEO Michael Sonnhenshein has promised to drop the fee once the fund transitions into an ETF.
