Bitcoin Investment Trust Shares Down 80 Percent, Investors Cite Low Prices, High Fees

The “lone” Bitcoin (BTC) investment trust in the U.S., Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC),  has seen its net asset value hit the lowest point since the BTC price surge of 2017, Bloomberg reported October 2.

Grayscale Investments Inc., the company behind GBTC, reportedly has $1.5 billion in assets under management, and is one of the largest cryptocurrency asset managers in the world. GBTC is an open-ended grantor trust, the purpose of which is to track BTC market price.

According to Bloomberg, shares of GBTC have dropped by around 80 percent since Bitcoin hit almost $20,000 last December. The drop purportedly follows the fall of the BTC price, which is down nearly 66 percent during the same timeframe.

Some investors attribute part of GBTC’s downward trend to its expense fees, as the company charges $20 for every $1,000 invested, or two percent. In comparison, the average mutual fund expense ratio is around 0.59 percent.  

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at financial…