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Retail Investors Can Now Buy the Ethereum Classic Investment Trust

Last Updated March 4, 2021 5:07 PM
Josiah Wilmoth
Last Updated March 4, 2021 5:07 PM

The Ethereum Classic Investment Trust was officially listed on over-the-counter (OTC) marketplace OTCQX on Thursday, providing retail investors with the opportunity to purchase shares of the fund through their brokerage and retirement accounts.

The fund, which is listed under the ticker symbol ETCG, is a creation of Grayscale Investments, who purchases “physical” ethereum classic tokens and manages custody on its clients’ behalf.

Each share represents slightly less than 0.97 ETC, so investors can obtain exposure to cryptocurrency investing through a familiar type of financial product. Shares can also be held in conventional brokerage accounts, as well as tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs.

Previously, investors could only purchase ETCG shares through a private placement, which restricted the fund to accredited (e.g. wealthy) investors. Grayscale first applied to have the fund quoted on OTCQX in March.

The trust is Grayscale’s second fund to be publicly-quoted. The firm’s flagship product — the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) has been quoted on OTCX since 2015 and at one point was the second most popular stock on investing app Stockpile.

ETCG has thus far been thinly-traded, which is unsurprising given that this is its first day on OTCQX. So far, less than 2,400 shares — worth approximately $64,000 — have changed hands. The Bitcoin Investment Trust, meanwhile, has seen approximately $12.5 million in trading volume.

ethereum classic investment trust
Source: Yahoo Finance

At present, shares are priced at $27.00, which represents a 24 percent premium over the spot ETC price, which is $21.69. This was to be expected, as GBTC — the only other publicly-quoted cryptocurrency fund — almost always trades at a premium due to consumer demand. That said, ethereum classic is much more of a niche asset than bitcoin, so it will be interesting to see what level of demand surfaces for this product.

As CCN.com reported, Grayscale has launched a slew of funds over the past several months. In addition to trusts that track individual currencies like bitcoin cash, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, and zcash, the firm has also opened its first index fund. All of these funds are currently restricted to accredited investors.

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