WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), a fund led by bitcoin entrepreneur Barry Silbert, announced Thursday a 91-for-1 stock split of the Trust's issued and outstanding shares.
In a statement, Grayscale Investments, LLC, the sponsor of the fund and a unit of Digital Currency Group, Inc. that builds and supports bitcoin and blockchain companies, said that under the split, shareholders of record on January 22 will receive 90 additional shares of the Trust for each share held.
The stock split will be effected on January 26 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 22. Following the stock split, the Trust's shares will continue to be quoted on the OTCQX under the symbol 'GBTC.'
As of now, the trust has 1.92 million shares and immediately after effectiveness of the stock split on January 26, the Trust would have 174.41 million shares outstanding.
Bitcoin Investment Trust allows retail traders to make bets on bitcoin. It is run by Silbert, a former Wall Street investment banker and a big supporter of cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, major brokerage services have blocked the bitcoin fund recently. As per reports, Wells Fargo & Co., which runs the WellsTrade online brokerage service, joined Merrill Lynch in prohibiting its brokers from selling Bitcoin Investment Trust Fund.
Merrill Lynch, the brokerage arm of Bank of America, earlier had blocked financial advisers and clients from trading in bitcoin-related investments, including Bitcoin Investment Trust.
Reuters reported that that as of December 8, Merrill Lynch stopped signing off on new orders for the Bitcoin Investment Trust, citing suitability and eligibility standards of the product.
WealthManagement.com recently reported that Wells Fargo is not allowing its advisors trade the bitcoin fund or bitcoin futures. As per the report, Wells Fargo Advisors or Wells Fargo Securities do not have any current plans to create a trading desk for cryptocurrencies.
Wall Street majors and regulators around the world are taking a cautious approach towards cryptocurrency, which is highly volatile and unregulated.
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