Last week, BlackRock, a $9.5 trillion asset manager, made a seismic step by filing an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The traditional financial titan’s rippling effects appear to have boosted investor sentiment and pushed Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) skyrocketing.
According to Yahoo Finance, GBTC soared more than 12% on the announcement before markets closed on Friday, with share prices reaching $15.12.
Grayscale’s main product, GBTC, allows investors to trade shares in trusts that hold pools of Bitcoin, with each share designed to mirror the current price of Bitcoin; the idea being that investors can obtain exposure to Bitcoin without actually purchasing and holding the commodity.