GBTC vs BTC: What’s The Deal?

By Elena Obukhova, founder & CEO at FAS | Fintech Advisory ServicesAccording to Grayscale’s official website, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is a traditional investment vehicle with shares titled in the investors name, providing a familiar structure for financial and tax advisors and easy transferability to beneficiaries under estate laws.The phrase “for financial and tax advisors and easy transferability to beneficiaries” tells us enough to understand the primary focus of the GBTC instrument. GBTC is available for accredited investors, and your minimum buy-in should be $50K. They also charge a 2.0% annual account fee, accrued daily. GBTC, unlike Bitcoin, is not an instrument that democratises payments and makes financial transactions accessible to the masses. That is something very important to understand.GBTC is traded at OTCQX and available to a limited number of countries, while Bitcoin is traded globally and available to everyone (even to those residents whose countries are not allowed to hold Bitcoin).I decided to read different forums and look up for some articles that are covering some benefits of GBTC over BTC. I’ve found a few very common answers and wanted to cover them here:1. GBTC is easier to buyYou need to have $50K to buy-in that makes it already quite complicated for a general retail investor to purchase GBTC, while they can easily buy Bitcoin at any crypto exchange with any amount. Another fact to keep in mind is that traditional markets have working hours and they can be closed. If you would like to withdraw your funds on Saturday night, you will be quite disappointed as your funds are being imprisoned. However, if you’re a Bitcoin holder, you can sell it at any time you want (and if you want).Why was this statement listed in favour of GBTC? Many institutions are not yet fully exposed to cryptocurrency markets…