Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC)

Overview

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC), traded as GBTC, is a U.S.-listed investment trust that holds Bitcoin. Its objective is for the value of its shares to reflect the value of the Bitcoin it holds, less expenses and liabilities, giving investors exposure to Bitcoin through a security rather than direct ownership of the asset. Formed in 2013, the Trust began trading on NYSE Arca in January 2024.[1]+2

The Trust operates in the digital-asset investment sector and is focused on a single asset, Bitcoin, rather than a diversified set of products or geographic markets. It has no officers, directors or employees of its own; its scale is better indicated by the value of its Bitcoin holdings than by conventional measures such as headcount or operating revenue. Those holdings were valued at approximately $19.2 billion at the end of 2024.[4][5] [1]+4

Products & services

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), formerly Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC), is a single-asset investment product whose shares trade on NYSE Arca. The trust holds bitcoin and issues shares representing fractional beneficial interests in those holdings. Its objective is for the value of each share to reflect the value of its underlying bitcoin, less the trust’s expenses and liabilities; shareholders own shares rather than bitcoin directly.[6][7]

Shares are created and redeemed in baskets through authorized participants, rather than individually with the trust; the trust’s creation and redemption arrangements provide for exchanges of bitcoin. Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC serves as its bitcoin custodian. The product charges a 1.50% annual sponsor fee, which reduces the bitcoin value attributable to shares over time.[8]+2 [6]+9

Geographic presence

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) is organized as a Delaware statutory trust. Its principal executive office is in Stamford, Connecticut, and its shares trade on NYSE Arca under the symbol GBTC. The trust has no employees; it is managed and administered by its sponsor.[11]+3

Its custody arrangements have a broader geographic footprint: private-key shards are held in secure vaults around the world, including in the United States. Specific vault locations are not disclosed.[15] [11]+5

Business segments

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) reports **one operating segment: the Trust as a whole**, rather than separate businesses by product or geography. This segment holds Bitcoin; the Trust’s shares are intended to reflect the value of its Bitcoin holdings, less expenses and other liabilities. The single segment therefore accounts for approximately **100% of reported segment assets**.[16][17]

The Trust’s segment assets are its total assets, and its Sponsor’s fee is its only significant segment expense. It does not report a percentage breakdown across multiple segments.[16] [16][17]

Company history

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) was formed in September 2013 as the Bitcoin Investment Trust and began operations that month as a privately offered vehicle for investing in bitcoin. Its shares became publicly quoted on the OTCQX market in May 2015. In January 2020, the trust became an SEC reporting company.[18]+2

After the SEC rejected a proposal to convert the trust into a spot-bitcoin exchange-traded product in 2022, Grayscale challenged the decision. A federal appeals court vacated the rejection in August 2023. The SEC approved the trust’s exchange listing in January 2024, and its shares began trading on NYSE Arca as an ETF under the existing GBTC ticker on January 11. Later that year, the trust distributed shares of the newly established Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust to eligible shareholders in a spin-off.[21]+2 [24]+7

Sources

• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) — Full financial report (2024 Y)
  7 citations

  [1][2][3][4][11][13][15]
• www.sec.gov[5]
• www.sec.gov[6]
• www.sec.gov[7]
• www.sec.gov[8]
• www.sec.gov[9]
• www.sec.gov[10]
• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) — Full financial report (2025 Y)
  4 citations

  [12][14][16][17]
• www.sec.gov[18]
• www.prnewswire.com[19]
• www.sec.gov[20]
• www.govinfo.gov[21]
• www.sec.gov[22]
• www.sec.gov[23]
• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) — Full financial report (2022 Y)[24]