New York, Oct. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grayscale Investments®, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, today announced that Shares of Grayscale® Digital Large Cap Fund (DLC) have received approval from FINRA for public quotation under symbol: GDLCF on OTC Markets. This marks the introduction of the first publicly-quoted security in the U.S. deriving value from a diverse selection of digital currencies.
DLC is an open-ended fund managed by Grayscale. DLC enables investors to gain exposure to the price movement of a diversified basket of large-cap digital currencies through an investment vehicle, avoiding the challenges of buying, storing, and safekeeping digital currencies directly.
SECONDARY MARKET for the PRIVATE PLACEMENT
DLC has offered a private placement to accredited investors since February 2018. As of September 30, 2019, there were 3,194,900 Shares outstanding of DLC. Shares created through DLC’s private placement become eligible to sell into the public market after a statutory one-year holding period under Rule 144 of the Securities Act.*
There will be no trading volume in the Shares’ public quotation until the Shares are DTC eligible, which GDLC is expected to receive soon. Investors will be able to buy and sell freely-tradable DLC shares through their investment accounts in the same manner as they would other unregistered securities.
FUND CONSTRUCTION
DLC provides exposure to a diverse selection of digital currencies that meet Grayscale’s fund construction criteria through a market capitalization-weighted portfolio (Fund Components). As of September 30, 2019, DLC’s Fund Components were a basket of 80.3% Bitcoin (BTC), 9.9% Ethereum (ETH), 5.8% XRP, 2.2% Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and 1.8% Litecoin (LTC).
The investment objective of DLC is for the Shares (based on Fund Components per Share) to reflect the value of the Fund Components, determined by reference to TradeBlock's Digital Asset Reference Rate for each Fund Component at 4:00 p.m. New York time, less DLC’s expenses and other liabilities. As of September 30, 2019, each Share represented 0.00049043 Bitcoin (BTC), 0.00283525 Ethereum (ETH), 1.13609958 XRP, 0.00049348 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and 0.00160253 Litecoin (LTC). DLC will not generate any income and regularly distributes Fund Components to pay for its ongoing expenses. Therefore, the amount of Fund Components represented by each Share gradually decreases over time.
Through a rules-based portfolio construction methodology, DLC targets coverage of the upper 70% of the digital currency market. The composition of DLC is evaluated on a quarterly basis** to remove existing Fund Components or to include new Fund Components in DLC's portfolio, in accordance with DLC’s fund construction criteria established by Grayscale. DLC may also hold cash and assets arising as a result of a fork, airdrop, or similar event from time to time.***
DLC is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not subject to disclosure and certain other requirements mandated by U.S. securities laws.
GRAYSCALE PRODUCT FAMILY
Grayscale's investment products are available to institutional and individual accredited investors through their respective periodic and ongoing private placements. In addition to its diversified offering, Grayscale’s single-asset investment products provide exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Horizen (ZEN), Litecoin (LTC), Stellar Lumens (XLM), XRP, and Zcash (ZEC). As of September 30, 2019, Grayscale managed approximately $2.1 billion in assets.
DLC is Grayscale’s fourth publicly-quoted investment product. Grayscale® Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX: GBTC), Grayscale® Ethereum Trust (OTCQX: ETHE), and Grayscale® Ethereum Classic Trust (OTCQX: ETCG) are also publicly-quoted and available to all investors with access to U.S. securities. Investors will be able to find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for Shares of DLC on www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GDLC/overview once trading commences.
*Because Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund does not currently operate a redemption program, there are no assurances that the value of the private placement Shares will approximate the value of the underlying assets held by DLC when traded on a secondary market, like OTC Markets. As such, the Shares of the public quotation may trade at a substantial premium over, or substantial discount to, the value of the assets held by DLC. **DLC’s Fund Components are evaluated on a quarterly basis, beginning on the first business day of January, April, July, and October of each year.
***Forks, airdrops, and similar events are evaluated on a case-by-case basis in consultation with DLC’s legal advisors, tax consultants, and custodian. There are likely to be operational, tax, securities law, regulatory, legal, and practical issues that significantly limit, or prevent entirely, DLC’s ability to realize a benefit from any forks, airdrops, or similar events.
This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal, nor shall there be any sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.
About Grayscale Investments
Grayscale Investments, LLC is the world’s largest digital currency asset manager. With a proven track record and unrivaled experience, we give investors the tools to make informed investing decisions in a burgeoning asset class. As part of Digital Currency Group, Grayscale accesses the world’s biggest network of industry intelligence to build better investment products. We have removed the barrier to entry so that institutions and individual investors can benefit from exposure to digital currencies. Now, forward-thinking investors can embrace a digital future with an institutional grade investment. Grayscale is headquartered in New York City. For more information on Grayscale, please visit www.grayscale.co or follow us on Twitter, @GrayscaleInvest.
Marissa Arnold
press@grayscale.co
