This evening, SecondMarket, took a further step
into the Bitcoin space through announcing its new
work with the Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT), a
private investment vehicle. The BIT is the first
U.S.-based private investment vehicle to invest in
bitcoin alone and received a $2 million seed
investment from SecondMarket. Moving forward,
shares of the BIT will be exclusively offered
through SecondMarket. SecondMarket and BIT
pushed out the following press release this evening:
Bitcoin Investment Trust Launches on
SecondMarket
First U.S.-based private investment vehicle to
invest exclusively in bitcoin begins raising
capital
NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2013 – The Bitcoin
Investment Trust (BIT), a private investment
vehicle, announced today that it has begun raising
capital on SecondMarket. The BIT is an open-
ended, private trust that is exclusively invested in
bitcoin and derives its value solely from the price of
bitcoin. It enables institutional and accredited
individual investors to gain exposure to bitcoin
without the buying, storing and safekeeping
challenges of direct bitcoin ownership. The BIT is
the first U.S.-based private investment vehicle to
invest exclusively in bitcoin.
The BIT’s sponsor is Alternative Currency Asset
Management (ACAM), a wholly-owned subsidiary
of SecondMarket. Shares of the BIT are being
exclusively offered through SecondMarket, a
registered broker-dealer. SecondMarket has also
made a $2 million seed investment in the BIT.
“We incubated the BIT to alleviate the problems of
direct bitcoin ownership, including having to wire
money to newly-established and potentially
unregulated entities around the world,” said
SecondMarket Founder and CEO Barry Silbert.
“SecondMarket has a track record of making
alternative investments accessible to a broader group
of qualified investors, and our infrastructure
enables streamlined capital raising, liquidity, and
investor communications for funds and companies.
Thus, we believe that a bitcoin-related investment
vehicle is a great fit for SecondMarket.”
Bitcoin is a digital currency and global transaction
network that was created to eliminate the challenges
of using analog currency and payment mechanisms
in a digital world. Since its inception in 2009, the
market capitalization of bitcoin has risen to $1.5
billion, 24 million bitcoin transactions have been
conducted, and more than 10,000 vendors now
accept bitcoin. Proponents believe that bitcoin has
potential as a store of value, global currency and/or
global transaction network, and could disrupt the
incumbents in e-commerce, remittance and other
related industries. Only a finite number of bitcoins
can ever be created; accordingly, bitcoin may not
suffer the inflationary impact of fiat currencies.
“We believe that bitcoin may have significant upside
given the size and scope of the industries that
potentially are impacted by bitcoin,” Silbert noted.
“However, bitcoin also faces regulatory uncertainty
and widespread adoption issues that make investing
in bitcoin a highly risky endeavor.”
As sponsor, ACAM has retained prominent
service providers including Sidley Austin LLP
(legal counsel), Ernst & Young (auditor),
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust (transfer agent)
and SecondMarket (marketplace, custodian and
authorized participant). Investors who purchase
shares in the BIT will have the opportunity to gain
liquidity through periodic auctions on
SecondMarket beginning in 2014. The Net Asset
Value (NAV) of the BIT will be calculated daily
and made publicly available.
For more information, visit bitcointrust.co.
###
About ACAM
Alternative Currency Asset Management
(ACAM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of
SecondMarket, is an asset manager focused on
alternative currencies, including bitcoin. ACAM is
the sponsor of the Bitcoin Investment Trust.
About SecondMarket
SecondMarket enable private companies, investment
funds and other issuers to manage liquidity, raise
capital and communicate with their stakeholders.
SecondMarket is backed by premier investors,
including FirstMark Capital, The Social+Capital
Partnership, Li Ka-shing Foundation, Temasek
Holdings, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and
Silicon Valley Bank. SecondMarket is a registered
broker-dealer and member of FINRA, MSRB and
SIPC and a registered alternative trading system
(ATS) for private company stock. For more
information, please visit secondmarket.com.
Follow us on Twitter and like us on Faceb
