Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Discount Hits Record at 26.5%

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Discount Hits Record at 26.5%

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's (GBTC) shares have widened their discount relative to the underlying cryptocurrency held in the fund, reaching a record of 26.5% on Wednesday.

GBTC has been the preferred venue for institutional investors to gain exposure to crypto without having to purchase bitcoin directly, but the shares have traded at a steep discount over the past year as demand for the product shrank. (Grayscale Investments, which manages the trust, is a unit of Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk.)

The premium flipped to a discount last February, and the discount has steadily widened ever since due to several factors, including the launch of spot-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Canada, which provided an alternative to those looking to invest in bitcoin through a stock market vehicle.