Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”) and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, notice is hereby given that, on October 19, 2021, NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares of the following under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (the “Trust”). The proposed change is available on the Exchange's website at www.nyse.com,, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose

Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E, the Exchange may propose to list and/or trade pursuant to unlisted trading privileges “Commodity-Based Trust Shares.” The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares (“Shares”) of the Trust pursuant to NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E.

The sponsor of the Trust is Grayscale Investments, LLC (“Sponsor”), a Delaware limited liability company. The Sponsor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, Inc. (“Digital Currency Group”). The trustee for the Trust is Delaware Trust Company (“Trustee”). The custodian for the Trust is Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC (“Custodian”). The distribution and marketing agent for the Trust is Genesis. The index provider for the Trust is TradeBlock, Inc. (the “Index Provider”).

The Trust is a Delaware statutory trust, organized on September 13, 2013, that operates pursuant to a trust agreement between the Sponsor and the Trustee (“Trust Agreement”). The Trust has no fixed termination date.

Operation of the Trust

According to the Annual Report, the Trust's assets consist solely of Bitcoins, Incidental Rights, IR Virtual Currency, proceeds from the sale of Bitcoins, Incidental Rights, and IR Virtual Currency pending use of such cash for payment of Additional Trust Expenses or distribution to shareholders, and any rights of the Trust pursuant to any agreements, other than the Trust Agreement, to which the Trust is a party. Each Share represents a proportional interest, based on the total number of Shares outstanding, in each of the Trust's assets as determined by reference to the Index Price, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities (which include accrued but unpaid fees and expenses). The Sponsor expects that the market price of the Shares will fluctuate over time in response to the market prices of Bitcoin. In addition, because the Shares reflect the estimated accrued but unpaid expenses of the Trust, the number of Bitcoins represented by a Share will gradually decrease over time as the Trust's Bitcoins are used to pay the Trust's expenses. The Trust does not expect to take any Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency it may hold into account for purposes of determining the Trust's “Digital Asset Holdings” (as described below) or the Digital Asset Holdings per Share.

The activities of the Trust are limited to (i) issuing “Baskets” (as defined below) in exchange for Bitcoins transferred to the Trust as consideration in connection with the creations, (ii) transferring or selling Bitcoins, Incidental Rights, and IR Virtual Currency as necessary to cover the “Sponsor's Fee” and/or certain Trust expenses, (iii) transferring Bitcoins in exchange for Baskets surrendered for redemption (subject to obtaining regulatory approval from the SEC and approval of the Sponsor), (iv) causing the Sponsor to sell Bitcoins, Incidental Rights, and IR Virtual Currency on the termination of the Trust, (v) making distributions of Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency or cash from the sale thereof, and (vi) engaging in all administrative and security procedures necessary to accomplish such activities in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Agreement, the Custodian Agreement, the Index License Agreement and the Participant Agreements.

In addition, the Trust may engage in any lawful activity necessary or desirable in order to facilitate shareholders' access to Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency, provided that such activities do not conflict with the terms of the Trust Agreement. The Trust will not be actively managed. It will not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the market prices of Bitcoins.

Investment Objective

According to the Annual Report, and as further described below, the Trust's investment objective is for the value of the Shares (based on Bitcoin per Share) to reflect the value of the Bitcoins held by the Trust, as determined by reference to the Index Price, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities. While an investment in the Shares is not a direct investment in Bitcoin, the Shares are designed to provide investors with a cost-effective and convenient way to gain investment exposure to Bitcoin. A substantial direct investment in Bitcoin may require expensive and sometimes complicated arrangements in connection with the acquisition, security and safekeeping of the Bitcoin and may involve the payment of substantial fees to acquire such Bitcoin from third-party facilitators through cash payments of U.S. dollars. Because the value of the Shares is correlated with the value of Bitcoin held by the Trust, it is important to understand the investment attributes of, and the market for, Bitcoin.

Bitcoin and the Bitcoin Network

According to the Annual Report, Bitcoin is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the peer-to-peer “Bitcoin Network,” a decentralized network of computers that operates on cryptographic protocols. No single entity owns or operates the Bitcoin Network, the infrastructure of which is collectively maintained by a decentralized user base. The Bitcoin Network allows people to exchange tokens of value, called Bitcoin, which are recorded on a public transaction ledger known as a Blockchain. Bitcoin can be used to pay for goods and services, or it can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, at rates determined on “Digital Asset Markets” that trade Bitcoin or in individual end-user-to-end-user transactions under a barter system.

The Bitcoin Network is decentralized and does not require governmental authorities or financial institution intermediaries to create, transmit, or determine the value of Bitcoin. Rather, Bitcoin is created and allocated by the Bitcoin Network protocol through a “mining” process. The value of Bitcoin is determined by the supply of and demand for Bitcoin on the Digital Asset Markets or in private end-user-to-end-user transactions.

New Bitcoin are created and rewarded to the miners of a block in the Blockchain for verifying transactions. The Blockchain is effectively a decentralized database that includes all blocks that have been solved by miners, and it is updated to include new blocks as they are solved. Each Bitcoin transaction is broadcast to the Bitcoin Network and, when included in a block, recorded in the Blockchain. As each new block records outstanding Bitcoin transactions, and outstanding transactions are settled and validated through such recording, the Blockchain represents a complete, transparent and unbroken history of all transactions of the Bitcoin Network.

Summary of a Bitcoin Transaction

Prior to engaging in Bitcoin transactions directly on the Bitcoin Network, a user generally must first install on its computer or mobile device a Bitcoin Network software program that will allow the user to generate a private and public key pair associated with a Bitcoin address, commonly referred to as a “wallet.” The Bitcoin Network software program and the Bitcoin address also enable the user to connect to the Bitcoin Network and transfer Bitcoin to, and receive Bitcoin from, other users.

Each Bitcoin Network address, or wallet, is associated with a unique “public key” and “private key” pair. To receive Bitcoin, the Bitcoin recipient must provide its public key to the party initiating the transfer. This activity is analogous to a recipient for a transaction in U.S. dollars providing a routing address in wire instructions to the payor so that cash may be wired to the recipient's account. The payor approves the transfer to the address provided by the recipient by “signing” a transaction that consists of the recipient's public key with the private key of the address from where the payor is transferring the Bitcoin. The recipient, however, does not make public or provide to the sender its related private key.

Neither the recipient nor the sender reveal their private keys in a transaction, because the private key authorizes transfer of the funds in that address to other users. Therefore, if a user loses his private key, the user may permanently lose access to the Bitcoin contained in the associated address. Likewise, Bitcoin is irretrievably lost if the private key associated with them is deleted and no backup has been made. When sending Bitcoin, a user's Bitcoin Network software program must validate the transaction with the associated private key. In addition, since every computation on the Bitcoin Network requires processing power, there is a transaction fee involved with the transfer that is paid by the payor. The resulting digitally validated transaction is sent by the user's Bitcoin Network software program to the Bitcoin Network miners to allow transaction confirmation.

Bitcoin Network miners record and confirm transactions when they mine and add blocks of information to the Blockchain. When a miner mines a block, it creates that block, which includes data relating to (i) the satisfaction of the consensus mechanism to mine the block, (ii) a reference to the prior block in the Blockchain to which the new block is being added and (iii) transactions that have submitted to the Bitcoin Network but have not yet been added to the Blockchain. The miner becomes aware of outstanding, unrecorded transactions through the data packet transmission and distribution discussed above.

Upon the addition of a block included in the Blockchain, the Bitcoin Network software program of both the spending party and the receiving party will show confirmation of the transaction on the Blockchain and reflect an adjustment to the Bitcoin balance in each party's Bitcoin Network public key, completing the Bitcoin transaction. Once a transaction is confirmed on the Blockchain, it is irreversible.

Some Bitcoin transactions are conducted “off-blockchain” and are therefore not recorded in the Blockchain. Some “off-blockchain transactions” involve the transfer of control over, or ownership of, a specific digital wallet holding Bitcoin or the reallocation of ownership of certain Bitcoin in a pooled-ownership digital wallet, such as a digital wallet owned by a Digital Asset Exchange. In contrast to on-blockchain transactions, which are publicly recorded on the Blockchain, information and data regarding off-blockchain transactions are generally not publicly available. Therefore, off-blockchain transactions are not truly Bitcoin transactions in that they do not involve the transfer of transaction data on the Bitcoin Network and do not reflect a movement of Bitcoin between addresses recorded in the Blockchain. For these reasons, off-blockchain transactions are subject to risks, as any such transfer of Bitcoin ownership is not protected by the protocol behind the Bitcoin Network or recorded in, and validated through, the blockchain mechanism.

Custody of the Trust's Bitcoins

Digital assets and digital asset transactions are recorded and validated on blockchains, the public transaction ledgers of a digital asset network. Each digital asset blockchain serves as a record of ownership for all of the units of such digital asset, even in the case of certain privacy-focused digital assets, where the transactions themselves are not publicly viewable. All digital assets recorded on a blockchain are associated with a public blockchain address, also referred to as a digital wallet. Digital assets held at a particular public blockchain address may be accessed and transferred using a corresponding private key.

Key Generation

Public addresses and their corresponding private keys are generated by the Custodian in secret key generation ceremonies at secure locations inside faraday cages, which are enclosures used to block electromagnetic fields and mitigate attacks. The Custodian uses quantum random number generators to generate the public and private key pairs.

Once generated, private keys are encrypted, separated into “shards,” and then further encrypted. After the key generation ceremony, all materials used to generate private keys, including computers, are destroyed. All key generation ceremonies are performed offline. No party other than the Custodian has access to the private key shards of the Trust.

Key Storage

Private key shards are distributed geographically in secure vaults around the world, including in the United States. The locations of the secure vaults may change regularly and are kept confidential by the Custodian for security purposes.

The Digital Asset Account uses offline storage, or “cold storage”, mechanisms to secure the Trust's private keys. The term cold storage refers to a safeguarding method by which the private keys corresponding to digital assets are disconnected and/or deleted entirely from the internet. Cold storage of private keys may involve keeping such keys on a non-networked (or “airgapped”) computer or electronic device or storing the private keys on a storage device (for example, a USB thumb drive) or printed medium (for example, papyrus, paper, or a metallic object). A digital wallet may receive deposits of digital assets but may not send digital assets without use of the digital assets' corresponding private keys. In order to send digital assets from a digital wallet in which the private keys are kept in cold storage, either the private keys must be retrieved from cold storage and entered into an online, or “hot,” digital asset software program to sign the transaction, or the unsigned transaction must be transferred to the cold server in which the private keys are held for signature by the private keys and then transferred back to the online digital asset software program. At that point, the user of the digital wallet can transfer its digital assets.

Security Procedures

The Custodian is the custodian of the Trust's private keys in accordance with the terms and provisions of the Custodian Agreement. Transfers from the Digital Asset Account require certain security procedures, including, but not limited to, multiple encrypted private key shards, usernames, passwords and 2-step verification. Multiple private key shards held by the Custodian must be combined to reconstitute the private key to sign any transaction in order to transfer the Trust's assets. Private key shards are distributed geographically in secure vaults around the world, including in the United States.

As a result, if any one secure vault is ever compromised, this event will have no impact on the ability of the Trust to access its assets, other than a possible delay in operations, while one or more of the other secure vaults is used instead. These security procedures are intended to remove single points of failure in the protection of the Trust's assets.

Transfers of Bitcoins to the Digital Asset Account will be available to the Trust once processed on the Blockchain.

Subject to obtaining regulatory approval to operate a redemption program and authorization of the Sponsor, the process of accessing and withdrawing Bitcoin from the Trust to redeem a Basket by an Authorized Participant will follow the same general procedure as transferring Bitcoins to the Trust to create a Basket by an Authorized Participant, only in reverse.

Digital Asset Holdings

According to the Annual Report, the Trust's assets consist solely of Bitcoins, Incidental Rights, IR Virtual Currency, proceeds from the sale of Bitcoins, Incidental Rights, and IR Virtual Currency pending use of such cash for payment of Additional Trust Expenses or distribution to the shareholders, and any rights of the Trust pursuant to any agreements, other than the Trust Agreement, to which the Trust is a party. Each Share represents a proportional interest, based on the total number of Shares outstanding, in each of the Trust's assets as determined in the case of Bitcoin by reference to the Index Price, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities (which include accrued but unpaid fees and expenses). The Sponsor expects that the market price of the Shares will fluctuate over time in response to the market prices of Bitcoin. In addition, because the Shares reflect the estimated accrued but unpaid expenses of the Trust, the number of Bitcoin represented by a Share will gradually decrease over time as the Trust's Bitcoin is used to pay the Trust's expenses. The Trust does not expect to take any Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency it may hold into account for purposes of determining the Trust's Digital Asset Holdings or the Digital Asset Holdings per Share.

The Sponsor will evaluate the Bitcoin held by the Trust and determine the Digital Asset Holdings of the Trust in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Trust Documents. The following is a description of the material terms of the Trust Documents as they relate to valuation of the Trust's Bitcoin and the Digital Asset Holdings calculations.

On each business day at 4:00 p.m., New York time, or as soon thereafter as practicable (the “Evaluation Time”), the Sponsor will evaluate the Bitcoin held by the Trust and calculate and publish the Digital Asset Holdings of the Trust. To calculate the Digital Asset Holdings, the Sponsor will:

1. Determine the Index Price as of such business day.

2. Multiply the Index Price by the Trust's aggregate number of Bitcoins owned by the Trust as of 4:00 p.m., E.T. on the immediately preceding day, less the aggregate number of Bitcoins payable as the accrued and unpaid Sponsor's Fee as of 4:00 p.m., E.T. on the immediately preceding day.

3. Add the U.S. dollar value of Bitcoins, calculated using the Index Price, receivable under pending creation orders, if any, determined by multiplying the number of the Baskets represented by such creation orders by the Basket Amount and then multiplying such product by the Index Price.

4. Subtract the U.S. dollar amount of accrued and unpaid Additional Trust Expenses, if any.

5. Subtract the U.S. dollar value of the Bitcoins, calculated using the Index Price, to be distributed under pending redemption orders, if any, determined by multiplying the number of Baskets to be redeemed represented by such redemption orders by the Basket Amount and then multiplying such product by the Index Price (the amount derived from steps 1 through 5 above, the “Digital Asset Holdings Fee Basis Amount”).

6. Subtract the U.S. dollar amount of the Sponsor's Fee that accrues for such business day, as calculated based on the Digital Asset Holdings Fee Basis Amount for such business day.

In the event that the Sponsor determines that the primary methodology used to determine the Index Price is not an appropriate basis for valuation of the Trust's Bitcoins, the Sponsor will utilize the cascading set of rules as described in “Trust Valuation of Bitcoin” below. In addition, in the event that the Trust holds any Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency, the Sponsor may, at its discretion, include the value of such Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency in the determination of the Digital Asset Holdings, provided that the Sponsor has determined in good faith a method for assigning an objective value to such Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency. At this time, the Trust does not expect to take any Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency it may hold into account for the purposes of determining the Digital Asset Holdings or the Digital Asset Holdings per Share.

Limits on Bitcoin Supply

The supply of new Bitcoin is mathematically controlled so that the number of Bitcoin grows at a limited rate pursuant to a pre-set schedule. The number of Bitcoin awarded for solving a new block is automatically halved after every 210,000 blocks are added to the Blockchain. Currently, the fixed reward for solving a new block is 6.25 Bitcoin per block and this is expected to decrease by half to become 3.125 Bitcoin after the next 210,000 blocks have entered the Bitcoin Network, which is expected to be mid-2024. This deliberately controlled rate of Bitcoin creation means that the number of Bitcoin in existence will increase at a controlled rate until the number of Bitcoin in existence reaches the pre-determined 21 million Bitcoin. As of June 30, 2021, approximately 18.7 million Bitcoins were outstanding and the date when the 21 million Bitcoin limitation will be reached is estimated to be the year 2140.

Bitcoin Value

Digital Asset Exchange Valuation

According to the Annual Report, the value of Bitcoin is determined by the value that various market participants place on Bitcoin through their transactions. The most common means of determining the value of a Bitcoin is by surveying one or more Digital Asset Exchanges where Bitcoin is traded publicly ( e.g., Coinbase Pro, Bitstamp, Kraken, and LMAX Digital). Additionally, there are over-the-counter dealers or market makers that transact in Bitcoin.

Digital Asset Exchange Public Market Data

On each online Digital Asset Exchange, Bitcoin is traded with publicly disclosed valuations for each executed trade, measured by one or more fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar or Euro. Over-the-counter dealers or market makers do not typically disclose their trade data.

As of June 30, 2021, the Digital Asset Exchanges included in the Index are Coinbase Pro, Bitstamp, Kraken and LMAX Digital. As further described below, each of these Digital Asset Exchanges are in compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state licensing requirements and practices regarding AML and KYC regulations.

Coinbase Pro: A U.S.-based exchange registered as a money services business (“MSB”) with FinCen and licensed as a virtual currency business under the NYDFS BitLicense as well as money transmitter in various U.S. states.

Bitstamp: A U.K.-based exchange registered as an MSB with FinCen and licensed as a virtual currency business under the NYDFS BitLicense as well as money transmitter in various U.S. states.

Kraken: A U.S.-based exchange registered as an MSB with FinCen and licensed as money transmitter in various U.S. states. Kraken does not hold a BitLicense.

LMAX Digital: A U.K.-based exchange registered as a broker with FCA. LMAX Digital does not hold a BitLicense.

Currently, there are several Digital Asset Exchanges operating worldwide, and online Digital Asset Exchanges represent a substantial percentage of Bitcoin buying and selling activity and provide the most data with respect to prevailing valuations of Bitcoins. These exchanges include established exchanges such as exchanges included in the Index, which provide a number of options for buying and selling Bitcoins. The below table reflects the trading volume in Bitcoins and market share of the BTC-U.S. dollar trading pair of each of the Digital Asset Exchanges included in the Index as of June 30, 2021 using data reported by the Index Provider from May 1, 2015 to June 30, 2021:

On January 19, 2020, as part of a scheduled quarterly review, the Index Provider delisted the Bittrex constituent and related BTC/USD currency pair and added the LMAX Digital constituent and related BTC/USD currency pair.

The domicile, regulation, and legal compliance of the Digital Asset Exchanges included in the Index varies. Information regarding each Digital Asset Exchange may be found, where available, on the websites for such Digital Asset Exchanges, among other places.

The Index and the Index Price

The Index is a U.S. dollar-denominated composite reference rate for the price of Bitcoin. The Index is designed to (i) mitigate the effects of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity from impacting the Bitcoin reference rate, (ii) provide a real-time, volume-weighted fair value of Bitcoin and (iii) appropriately handle and adjust for non-market related events.

The Index Price is determined by the Index Provider through a process in which trade data is cleansed and compiled in such a manner as to algorithmically reduce the impact of anomalistic or manipulative trading. This is accomplished by adjusting the weight of each data input based on price deviation relative to the observable set, as well as recent and long-term trading volume at each venue relative to the observable set. To calculate volume weighted price, the weighting algorithm is applied to the price and volume of all inputs for the immediately preceding 24-hour period at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the trade date.

Constituent Exchange Selection

According to the Annual Report, the Digital Asset Exchanges that are included in the Index are selected by the Index Provider utilizing a methodology that is guided by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (“IOSCO”) principles for financial benchmarks. For an exchange to become a Digital Asset Exchange included in the Index (a “Constituent Exchange”), it must satisfy the criteria listed below (the “Inclusion Criteria”):

• Compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state licensing requirements and practices regarding anti-money laundering (“AML”) and know-your-customer (“KYC”) regulations;
• Publicly known ownership;
• No restrictions on deposits and/or withdrawals of Bitcoin;
• No restrictions on deposits and/or withdrawals of U.S. dollars;
• Reliably displays new trade prices and volumes on a real-time basis through APIs;

• Programmatic trading of the Bitcoin/U.S. dollar spot price;

• Liquid market in the Bitcoin/U.S. dollar spot price;
• Trading volume must represent a minimum of total Bitcoin/U.S. dollar trading volumes (5% for U.S. exchanges and 10% non-U.S. exchanges); and

• Discretion of the Index Provider's analysts

A Digital Asset Exchange is removed from the Index when it no longer satisfies the Inclusion Criteria. The Index Provider does not currently include data from over-the-counter markets or derivatives platforms among the Constituent Exchanges. According to the Annual Report, over-the-counter data is not currently included because of the potential for trades to include a significant premium or discount paid for larger liquidity, which creates an uneven comparison relative to more active markets. There is also a higher potential for over-the-counter transactions to not be arms-length, and thus not be representative of a true market price. Bitcoin derivative markets are also not currently included as the markets remain relatively thin. The Index Provider will consider IOSCO principles for financial benchmarks and the management of trading venues of Bitcoin derivatives when considering inclusion of over-the-counter or derivative platform data in the future.

The Index Provider and the Sponsor have entered into an index license agreement (the “Index License Agreement”) governing the Sponsor's use of the Index Price. The Index Provider may adjust the calculation methodology for the Index Price without notice to, or consent of, the Trust or its shareholders. The Index Provider may decide to change the calculation methodology to maintain the integrity of the Index Price calculation should it identify or become aware of previously unknown variables or issues with the existing methodology that it believes could materially impact its performance and/or reliability. The Index Provider has sole discretion over the determination of Index Price and may change the methodologies for determining the Index Price from time to time. Shareholders will be notified of any material changes to the calculation methodology or the Index Price in the Trust's current reports and will be notified of all other changes that the Sponsor considers significant in the Trust's periodic reports. The Trust will determine the materiality of any changes to the Index Price on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with external counsel.

The Index Provider may change the trading venues that are used to calculate the Index or otherwise change the way in which the Index is calculated at any time. For example, the Index Provider has scheduled quarterly reviews in which it may add or remove Constituent Exchanges that satisfy or fail the Inclusion Criteria. The Index Provider does not have any obligation to consider the interests of the Sponsor, the Trust, the shareholders, or anyone else in connection with such changes. The Index Provider is not required to publicize or explain the changes or to alert the Sponsor to such changes. Although the Index methodology is designed to operate without any manual intervention, rare events would justify manual intervention. Intervention of this kind would be in response to non-market-related events, such as the halting of deposits or withdrawals of funds on a Digital Asset Exchange, the unannounced closure of operations on a Digital Asset Exchange, insolvency or the compromise of user funds. In the event that such an intervention is necessary, the Index Provider would issue a public announcement through its website, API and other established communication channels with its clients.

Determination of the Index Price

The Index applies an algorithm to the 24-hour volume-weighted average price of Bitcoin on the Constituent Exchanges calculated on a per second basis. The Index's algorithm is expected to reflect a four-pronged methodology to calculate the Index Price from the Constituent Exchanges:

• Volume Weighting: Constituent Exchanges with greater liquidity receive a higher weighting in the Index Price, increasing the ability to execute against ( i.e., replicate) the Index in the underlying spot markets.

• Price-Variance Weighting: The Index Price reflects data points that are discretely weighted in proportion to their variance from the rest of the other Constituent Exchanges. As the price at a particular exchange diverges from the prices at the rest of the Constituent Exchanges, its weight in the Index Price consequently decreases.

• Inactivity Adjustment: The Index Price algorithm penalizes stale activity from any given Constituent Exchange. When a Constituent Exchange does not have recent trading data, its weighting in the Index Price is gradually reduced until it is de-weighted entirely. Similarly, once trading activity at a Constituent Exchange resumes, the corresponding weighting for that Constituent Exchange is gradually increased until it reaches the appropriate level.

• Manipulation Resistance: In order to mitigate the effects of wash trading and order book spoofing, the Index Price only includes executed trades in its calculation. Additionally, the Index Price only includes Constituent Exchanges that charge trading fees to its users in order to attach a real, quantifiable cost to any manipulation attempts.

The Index Provider formally re-evaluates the weighting algorithm quarterly, but maintains discretion to change the way in which an Index Price is calculated based on its periodic review or in extreme circumstances. The Index is designed to limit exposure to trading or price distortion of any individual Digital Asset Exchange that experiences periods of unusual activity or limited liquidity by discounting, in real-time, anomalous price movements at individual Digital Asset Exchanges.

The Sponsor believes the Index Provider's selection process for Constituent Exchanges as well as the methodology of the Index Price's algorithm provides a more accurate picture of Bitcoin price movements than a simple average of Digital Asset Exchange spot prices, and that the weighting of Bitcoin prices on the Constituent Exchanges limits the inclusion of data that is influenced by temporary price dislocations that may result from technical problems, limited liquidity or fraudulent activity elsewhere in the Bitcoin spot market. By referencing multiple trading venues and weighting them based on trade activity, the Sponsor believes that the impact of any potential fraud, manipulation or anomalous trading activity occurring on any single venue is reduced.

If the Index Price becomes unavailable, or if the Sponsor determines in good faith that such Index Price does not reflect an accurate price for Bitcoin, then the Sponsor will, on a best efforts basis, contact the Index Provider to obtain the Index Price directly from the Index Provider. If after such contact such Index Price remains unavailable or the Sponsor continues to believe in good faith that such Index Price does not reflect an accurate price for the relevant digital asset, then the Sponsor will employ a cascading set of rules to determine the Index Price, as described below in “—Determination of the Index Price When Index Prices are Unavailable.”

The Trust values its Bitcoin for operational purposes by reference to the Index Price. The Index Price is the value of a Bitcoin as represented by the Index, calculated at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each business day. The Index Provider develops, calculates and publishes the Index on a continuous basis using the volume-weighted price at the Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges, as selected by the Index Provider.

Illustrative Example

For the purposes of illustration, outlined below are examples of how the attributes that impact weighting and adjustments in the aforementioned methodology may be utilized to generate the Index Price for a digital asset. For example, the Constituent Exchanges for the Index Price of the digital asset are Coinbase Pro, Kraken, LMAX Digital and Bitstamp.

The Index Price algorithm, as described above, accounts for manipulation at the outset by only including data from executed trades on Constituent Exchanges that charge trading fees. Then, the below-listed elements may impact the weighting of the Constituent Exchanges on the Index price as follows:

• Volume Weighting: Each Constituent Exchange will be weighted to appropriately reflect the trading volume share of the Constituent Exchange relative to all the Constituent Exchanges during this same period. For example, an average hourly weighting of 52.17%, 11.88%, 24.46% and 11.49% for Coinbase Pro, Kraken, LMAX Digital and Bitstamp, respectively, would represent each Constituent Exchange's share of trading volume during the same period.

• Inactivity Adjustment: Assume that a Constituent Exchange's trading engine represented a 14% influence on the trading price of the digital asset and then went offline for approximately two hours. The index algorithm automatically recognizes inactivity and de-weights that Constituent Exchange's influence in the Index Price—for example, from 14% to 0%—until trading activity resumes. At which point it would re-weight the Constituent Exchange activity to a weight lower than its original weighting—for example, to 12%.

• Price-Variance Weighting: Assume that for a one-hour period, the digital asset's execution prices on one Constituent Exchange were trading more than 7% higher than the average execution prices on another Constituent Exchange. The algorithm will automatically detect the anomaly and reduce that specific Constituent Exchange's weighting to 0% for that one-hour period, ensuring a reliable spot reference unaffected by the localized event.

Determination of the Index Price When Index Price Is Unavailable

In case of the unavailability of the Index Price, the Sponsor will use the following cascading set of rules to calculate the Index Price. For the avoidance of doubt, the Sponsor will employ the below rules sequentially and in the order as presented below, should one or more specific rule(s) fail:

1. Index Price = The price set by the Index as of 4:00 p.m., E.T., on the valuation date. If the Index becomes unavailable, or if the Sponsor determines in good faith that the Index does not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will, on a best efforts basis, contact the Index Provider to obtain the Index Price directly from the Index Provider. If after such contact the Index remains unavailable or the Sponsor continues to believe in good faith that the Index does not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will employ the next rule to determine the Index Price.

2. Index Price = The volume-weighted average Bitcoin price for the immediately preceding 24-hour period at 4:00 p.m., E.T., on the trade date as published by a third party's public data feed that is reasonably reliable, subject to the requirement that such data is calculated based upon a volume-weighted price obtained from the major Digital Asset Exchanges (the “Source”). Subject to the next sentence, if the Source becomes unavailable ( e.g., data sources from the Source for Bitcoin prices become unavailable, unwieldy or otherwise impractical for use) or if the Sponsor determines in good faith that the Source does not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will, on a best efforts basis, contact the Source in an attempt to obtain the relevant data. If after such contact the Source remains unavailable after such contact or the Sponsor continues to believe in good faith that the Source does not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will employ the next rule to determine the Index Price.

3. Index Price = The volume-weighted average price as calculated by dividing the sum of the total volume of Bitcoin transactions in U.S. dollar by the total volume of transactions in Bitcoin, in each case for the immediately preceding 24-hour period as of 4:00 p.m., E.T., on the trade date as published by a third party's public data feed that is reasonably reliable, subject to the requirement that such data is calculated based upon a volume-weighted price obtained from the major Digital Asset Exchanges (the “Second Source”). Subject to the next sentence, if the Second Source becomes unavailable ( e.g., data sources from the Second Source become unavailable, unwieldy or otherwise impractical for use) or if the Sponsor determines in good faith that the Second Source does not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will, on a best efforts basis, contact the Second Source in an attempt to obtain the relevant data. If after such contact the Second Source remains unavailable after such contact or the Sponsor continues to believe in good faith that the Second Source does not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will employ the next rule to determine the Index Price.

4. Index Price = The volume-weighted average price as calculated by dividing the sum of the total volume of Bitcoin transactions in U.S. dollar by the total volume of transactions in Bitcoin, in each case for the immediately preceding 24-hour period as of 4:00 p.m., E.T., on the trade date on the Digital Asset benchmark exchanges that represent at least 25% of the aggregate trading volume of the Digital Asset Exchange Market during the last 30 consecutive calendar days and that to the knowledge of the Sponsor are in substantial compliance with the laws, rules and regulations, including any anti-money laundering and know-your-customer procedures (collectively, “Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges”). If there are fewer than three individual Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges each of which represent at least 25% of the aggregate trading volume on the Digital Asset Exchange Market during the last 30 consecutive calendar days, then the Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges that will serve as the basis for the Index Price calculation will be those Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges that meet the above-described requirements, as well as one or more additional Digital Asset Exchanges, as selected by the Sponsor, that has had a monthly trading volume of at least 50,000 Bitcoin during the last 30 consecutive calendar days.

The Sponsor will review the composition of the exchanges that comprise the Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges at the beginning of each month in order to ensure the accuracy of such composition.

Subject to the next sentence, if one or more of the Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges become unavailable ( e.g., data sources from the Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges of Bitcoin prices becomes unavailable, unwieldy or otherwise impractical for use) or if the Sponsor determines in good faith that one or more Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges do not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will, on a best efforts basis, contact the Digital Asset Benchmark Exchange that is experiencing the service outages in an attempt to obtain the relevant data. If after such contact one or more of the Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges remain unavailable after such contact or the Sponsor continues to believe in good faith that one or more Digital Asset Benchmark Exchanges do not reflect an accurate Bitcoin price, then the Sponsor will employ the next rule to determine the Index Price

5. Index Price = The Sponsor will use its best judgment to determine a good faith estimate of the Index Price.

In the event of a fork, the Index Provider may calculate the Index Price based on a virtual currency that the Sponsor does not believe to be the appropriate asset that is held by the Trust. In this event, the Sponsor has full discretion to use a different index provider or calculate the Index Price itself using its best judgment.

The Structure and Operation of the Trust Protects Investors and Satisfies Commission Requirements for Bitcoin-Based Exchange Traded Products

The Commission has expressed legitimate concerns about the underlying Digital Asset Market due to the potential for fraud and manipulation and has clearly outlined the reasons why prior Bitcoin-based ETP proposals have been unable to satisfy these concerns in orders disapproving the proposed listing and trading of the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust, United States Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust, and various Bitcoin-based trust issued receipts.

In these disapproval orders, the Commission outlined that a proposal relating to a Bitcoin-based ETP could satisfy its concerns regarding potential for fraud and manipulation by demonstrating:

(1) Inherent Resistance to Fraud and Manipulation: that the underlying commodity market is inherently resistant to fraud and manipulation;

(2) Other Means to Prevent Fraud and Manipulation: that there are other means to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices that are sufficient; or

(3) Surveillance Sharing: that the listing exchange has entered into a surveillance sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size relating to the underlying or reference assets.

As described below, the Sponsor believes the structure and operation of the Trust are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to protect investors and the public interest, and to respond to the specific concerns that the Commission has identified with respect to potential fraud and manipulation in the context of a Bitcoin-based ETP.

How the Trust Meets Standards in the Winklevoss Order, Bitwise Order and Wilshire Phoenix Order

1. Resistance to or Prevention of Fraud and Manipulation

In the Bitwise Order, the Commission disagreed with the proposition that Bitcoin's fungibility, transportability and exchange tradability combine to provide unique protections against, and allow Bitcoin to be uniquely resistant to, attempts at price manipulation. The Commission reached its conclusion based on concessions by Bitwise that 95% of the reported trading in Bitcoin is “fake” or non-economic, effectively admitting that the properties of Bitcoin do not make it inherently resistant to manipulation. Bitwise's concessions were further compounded by evidence of potential and actual fraud and manipulation in the historical trading of Bitcoin on certain marketplaces such as (1) “wash” trading, (2) trading based on material, non-public information, including the dissemination of false and misleading information, (3) manipulative activity involving Tether, and (4) fraud and manipulation.

The Sponsor acknowledges the possibility that fraud and manipulation may exist and that Bitcoin trading on any given exchange may be no more uniquely resistant to fraud and manipulation than other commodity markets. However, the Sponsor believes that the fundamental features of Bitcoin's fungibility, transportability and exchange tradability offer novel protections beyond those that exist in traditional commodity markets or equity markets when combined with other means, as discussed further below.

2. Other Means To Prevent Fraud and Manipulation

The Commission has recognized that a listing exchange could demonstrate that other means to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices are sufficient to justify dispensing with the requisite surveillance-sharing agreement. In evaluating the effectiveness of this type of resistance, the Commission does not apply a “cannot be manipulated” standard. Instead, the Commission requires that such resistance to fraud and manipulation be novel and beyond those protections that exist in traditional commodity markets or equity markets for which the Commission has long required surveillance-sharing agreements in the context of listing derivative securities products.

The Sponsor believes the Index represents a novel means to prevent fraud and manipulation from impacting a reference price for Bitcoin and that it offers protections beyond those that exist in traditional commodity markets or equity markets. Specifically, Bitcoin is novel and exists outside traditional commodity markets. It therefore stands to reason that the methods in which it trades will be novel and that the market for Bitcoin will have different attributes than traditional commodity markets. Bitcoin was only introduced within the past decade, twenty years after the first U.S. ETFs were offered and 150 years after the first futures were offered. In contrast to older commodities such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium or copper, which the Commission has noted all had at least one significant, regulated market for trading futures on the underlying commodity at the time commodity trust ETPs were approved for listing and trading, the first trading in Bitcoin took place entirely in an open, transparent and online setting where other commodities cannot trade.

The Trust has priced its Shares consistently for more than six years based on the Index. The Sponsor believes the Trust's use of the Index specifically addresses the Commission's concerns in that the Index serves as an alternative means to prevent fraud and manipulation. Specifically, the Index can (i) mitigate the effects of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity on the Bitcoin reference rate, (ii) provide a real-time, volume-weighted fair value of Bitcoin and (iii) appropriately handle and adjust for non-market related events.

As described in more detail below, the Sponsor believes that the Index accomplishes those objectives in the following ways:

1. The Index tracks the Digital Asset Exchange Market Price through trading activity at “U.S.-Compliant Exchanges”;

2. The Index mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity in real-time through systematic adjustments;

3. The Index is constructed and maintained by an expert third-party index provider, allowing for prudent handling of non-market-related events;

4. The Index mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity concentrated on any one specific exchange through a cross-exchange composite index rate; and

5. The Index mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity occurring on multiple exchanges by using a 24-hour window to weight the activity at each exchange through a 24-hour Volume Weighted Average Price (“VWAP”).

1. The Index tracks the Digital Asset Exchange Market Price through trading activity at “U.S.-Compliant Exchanges”.

To reduce the risk of fraud, manipulation, and other anomalous trading activity from impacting the Index, only U.S.-Compliant Exchanges are eligible to be included in the Index.

The Index maintains a minimum number of three exchanges and a maximum number of five exchanges to track the Digital Asset Exchange Market while offering replicability for traders and market makers.

U.S.-Compliant Exchanges possess safeguards that protect against fraud and manipulation. For example, U.S.-Compliant Exchanges regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) under the BitLicense program have regulatory requirements to implement measures designed to effectively detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, attempted fraud, market manipulation, and similar wrongdoing, and to monitor, control, investigate and report back to the NYDFS regarding any wrongdoing. These exchanges also have the following obligations:

• Submission of audited financial statements including income statements, statement of assets/liabilities, insurance, and banking;
• Compliance with capitalization requirements set at NYDFS's discretion;
• Prohibitions against the sale or encumbrance to protect full reserves of custodian assets;
• Fingerprints and photographs of employees with access to customer funds;
• Retention of a qualified Chief Information Security Officer and annual penetration testing/audits;

• Documented business continuity and disaster recovery plan, independently tested annually; and

• Participation in an independent exam by NYDFS.

Other U.S.-Compliant Exchanges have voluntarily implemented measures to protect against common forms of market manipulation.

Furthermore, all U.S.-Compliant Exchanges are considered Money Services Businesses (“MSBs”) that are subject to federal and state reporting requirements of the U.S Department of Treasury's FinCEN division that provide additional safeguards. For example, unscrupulous traders may be less likely to engage in fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices on exchanges that (1) report suspicious activity to FinCEN as money services businesses, (2) report to state regulators as money transmitters, and/or (3) require customer identification through KYC procedures. U.S.-Compliant Exchanges are required to:

• Identify people with ownership stakes or controlling roles in the MSB;
• Establish a formal Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policy in place with documentation, training, independent review, and a named compliance officer;
• Implement strict customer identification and verification policies and procedures;
• File Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for suspicious customer transactions;
• File Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) for cash-in or cash-out transactions greater than $10,000; and
• Maintain a five-year record of currency exchanges greater than $1,000 and money transfers greater than $3,000.

Lastly, because of Bitcoin's classification as a commodity, the CFTC has authority to police fraud and manipulation on U.S.-Compliant Exchanges.

The Sponsor acknowledges that there are substantial differences between FinCEN and New York state regulations and the Commission's regulation of the national securities exchanges. The Sponsor does not believe the inclusion of U.S.-Compliant Exchanges is in and of itself sufficient to prove that the Index is an alternative means to prevent fraud and manipulation such that surveillance sharing agreements are not required, but does believe that the inclusion of only U.S.-Compliant Exchanges in the Index is one significant way in which the Index is protected from the potential impacts of fraud and manipulation.

2. The Index mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity in real-time through systematic adjustments.

The Index is calculated once every second according to a systematic methodology that relies on observed trading activity on the Constituent Exchanges. While the precise methodology underlying the Index is currently proprietary, the key elements of the Index are outlined below:

• Volume Weighting: Constituent Exchanges with greater liquidity receive a higher weighting in the Index, increasing the ability to execute against ( i.e., replicate) the Index in the underlying spot markets.

• Price-Variance Weighting: The Index reflects data points that are discretely weighted in proportion to their variance from the rest of the Constituent Exchanges. As the price at a Constituent Exchange diverges from the prices at the rest of the Constituent Exchanges, its weight in the Index consequently decreases.

• Inactivity Adjustment: The Index algorithm penalizes stale activity from any given Constituent Exchange. When a Constituent Exchange does not have recent trading data, its weighting in the Index is gradually reduced, until it is de-weighted entirely. Similarly, once trading activity at the Constituent Exchange resumes, the corresponding weighting for that Constituent Exchange is gradually increased until it reaches the appropriate level.

• Manipulation Resistance: In order to mitigate the effects of wash trading and order book spoofing, the Index only includes executed trades in its calculation. Additionally, the Index only includes Constituent Exchanges that charge trading fees to its users in order to attach a real, quantifiable cost to any manipulation attempts.

The Index Provider reviews and periodically updates the exchanges included in the Index by utilizing a methodology that is guided by the IOSCO principles for financial benchmarks.

3. The Index is constructed and maintained by an expert third-party index provider, allowing for prudent handling of non-market-related events.

The Index Provider reviews and periodically updates which exchanges are included in the Index by utilizing a methodology that is guided by the IOSCO principles for financial benchmarks.

For an exchange to become a Constituent Exchange, it must satisfy the following Inclusion Criteria:

• Compliance with any applicable U.S. federal and state licensing requirements and practices regarding AML and KYC regulations ( i.e., the Constituent Exchange must be a U.S.-Compliant Exchange);

• Publicly known ownership entity;
• No restrictions on deposits and/or withdrawals of Bitcoin;
• No restrictions on deposits and/or withdrawals of USD;
• Reliably publish trade prices and volumes on a real-time basis through APIs;
• Charges trading fees to its users in order to attach a real, quantifiable cost to any manipulation attempts;
• Offer programmatic trading of the Bitcoin/USD spot price;
• Liquid market in the Bitcoin/USD pair;
• Trading volume that represents a minimum of total Bitcoin/USD trading volumes (5% for U.S. exchanges and 10% non-U.S. exchanges); and
• Discretion of the Index Provider's analysts.

Although the Index methodology is designed to operate without any human interference, rare events would justify manual intervention. Manual intervention would only be in response to “non-market-related events” ( e.g., halting of deposits or withdrawals of funds, unannounced closure of exchange operations, insolvency, compromise of user funds, etc.). In the event that such an intervention is necessary, the Index Provider would issue a public announcement through its website, API and other established communication channels with its clients.

4. The Index mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity concentrated on any one specific exchange through a cross-exchange composite index rate.

The Index is based on the price and volume data of multiple U.S.-Compliant Exchanges that satisfy the Index Provider's Inclusion Criteria. By referencing multiple trading venues and weighting them based on trade activity, the impact of any potential fraud, manipulation, or anomalous trading activity occurring on any single venue is reduced. Specifically, the effects of fraud, manipulation, or anomalous trading activity occurring on any single venue are de-weighted and consequently diluted by non-anomalous trading activity from other Constituent Exchanges.

Although the Index is designed to accurately capture the market price of Bitcoin, third parties may be able to purchase and sell Bitcoin on public or private markets included or not included among the Constituent Exchanges, and such transactions may take place at prices materially higher or lower than the Index Price. For example, based on data provided by the Index Provider, on any given day during the six months ended June 30, 2021, the maximum differential between the 4:00 p.m., New York time spot price of any single Digital Asset Exchange included in the Index and the Index Price was 8.50% and the average of the maximum differentials of the 4:00 p.m., New York time spot price of each Digital Asset Exchange included in the Index and the Index Price was 8.47%. During this same period, the average differential between the 4:00 p.m., New York time spot prices of all the Digital Asset Exchanges included in the Index and the Index Price was 0.27%.

5. The Index mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity occurring on multiple exchanges by using a 24-hour window to weight the activity at each exchange through a 24-hour VWAP.

In addition to the methodological enhancements offered by the Index, the Index Price represents a weighted average of the mean Bitcoin/USD price of all its Constituent Exchanges, calculated on a second per second basis, using observed trading activity on the Constituent Exchanges over the preceding 24-hour period.

The Sponsor believes that applying a 24-hour VWAP to the Index ensures that any fraudulent, manipulative or anomalous trading activity across the multiple Constituent Exchanges would have a negligible impact on the Index Price unless sustained for an extended period of time, and such a manipulation attempt would be prohibitively expensive to sustain over 24-hour period.

The effectiveness of a 24-hour VWAP as a “smoothing” mechanism to mitigate the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation or anomalous trading activity on the price of an asset can be measured as “Volatility Reduction” or “Improvement.” The Sponsor represents that the Index Price experienced 12.1% lower annualized volatility ( i.e., a 16.5% improvement) as compared to the Global Digital Asset Market Price.

Since November 1, 2014, the Trust has consistently priced its Shares at 4:00 p.m., E.T. based on the Index Price. While that pricing would be known to the market, the Sponsor believes that, even if efforts to manipulate the price of Bitcoin at 4:00 p.m., E.T. were successful on any exchange, such activity would have had a negligible effect on the pricing of the Trust, due to the controls embedded in the structure of the Index.

Accordingly, the Sponsor believes that the Index has proven its ability to (i) mitigate the effects of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity on the Bitcoin reference rate, (ii) provide a real-time, volume-weighted fair value of Bitcoin and (iii) appropriately handle and adjust for non-market related events. For these reasons, the Sponsor believes that the Index represents an effective alternative means to prevent fraud and manipulation and the Trust's reliance on the Index addresses the Commission's concerns with respect to potential fraud and manipulation.

3. A Significant, Regulated and Surveilled Market Exists and Is Closely Connected With Spot Market for Bitcoin

In the Winklevoss Order, Bitwise Order and Wilshire Phoenix Order, the Commission described both the need for and the definition of a surveilled market of significant size for commodity-trust ETPs like the Trust to date. Specifically, the Commission explained that:

for the commodity-trust ETPs approved to date for listing and trading, there has been in every case at least one significant, regulated market for trading futures on the underlying commodity—whether gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or copper—and the ETP listing exchange has entered into surveillance-sharing agreements with, or held Intermarket Surveillance Group membership in common with, that market.

Further, the Commission stated that its interpretation of the term “market of significant size” depends on the interrelationship between the market with which the listing exchange has a surveillance-sharing agreement and the proposed ETP. Accordingly, the terms “significant market” and “market of significant size” could mean:

a market (or group of markets) as to which (a) there is a reasonable likelihood that a person attempting to manipulate the ETP would also have to trade on that market to successfully manipulate the ETP, so that a surveillance-sharing agreement would assist in detecting and deterring misconduct, and (b) it is unlikely that trading in the ETP would be the predominant influence on prices in that market.

In the context of Bitcoin-based ETPs specifically, the Commission has stated that establishing a lead-lag relationship between the Bitcoin futures market and the spot market is central to understanding whether it is reasonably likely that a would-be manipulator of the ETP would need to trade on the Bitcoin futures market to successfully manipulate prices on those spot platforms that feed into the proposed ETP's pricing mechanism such that a surveillance-sharing agreement would assist the ETP listing market in detecting and deterring misconduct. In particular, if the spot market leads the futures market, this would indicate that it would not be necessary to trade on the futures market to manipulate the proposed ETP, even if arbitrage worked efficiently, because the futures price would move to meet the spot price.

The Sponsor has conducted a lead/lag analysis of per minute data comparing the Bitcoin futures market, as represented by the CME futures market, to the Bitcoin spot market, as represented by the Index. Based on this analysis, the Sponsor has concluded that there does not appear to be a significant lead/lag relationship between the two instruments for the period of November 1, 2019 to August 31, 2021.

Although there is no significant lead/lag relationship, the Sponsor believes that the CME futures market represents a large, surveilled and regulated market. For example, from November 1, 2019 to August 31, 2021, the CME futures market trading volume was over $432 billion, compared to $624 billion in trading volume across the Constituent Exchanges included in the Index. With over 69% of the Index trading volume, the CME futures market represents significant coverage of U.S.-Compliant Exchanges in the Bitcoin market. In addition, the CME futures market trading volume from November 1, 2019 to August 31, 2021 was approximately 50% of the trading volume of the U.S. dollar-denominated Bitcoin spot markets referenced in the Bitwise Order.

Given the significant size of the CME futures markets, the Sponsor believes there is a reasonable likelihood that a person attempting to manipulate the ETP would also have to trade on that market to successfully manipulate the ETP, since arbitrage between the derivative and spot markets would tend to counter an attempt to manipulate the spot market alone. As a result, the Exchange's ability to obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and futures from markets and other entities that are members of the Intermarket Trading Group (“ISG”), including the CME, would assist the Exchange in detecting and deterring misconduct.

The Sponsor also believes it is unlikely that the ETP would become the predominant influence on prices in the market.

While future inflows to the proposed Trust cannot be predicted, to provide comparable data, the Sponsor examined the change in market capitalization of Bitcoin with net inflows into the Trust, which currently trades on OTC Markets and is largest and most liquid Bitcoin investment product in the world. From November 1, 2019 to August 31, 2021, the market capitalization of Bitcoin grew from $166 billion to $888 billion, a $721 billion increase. Over the same period, the Trust experienced $6.6 billion of inflows. The cumulative inflow into the Trust over the stated time period was only 0.9% of the aggregate growth of Bitcoin's market capitalization.

Additionally, the Trust experienced approximately $98.5 billion of trading volume from November 1, 2019 to August 31, 2021, only 23% of the CME futures market and 16% of the Index over the same period.

In summary, the Sponsor believes that the foregoing responds to the Commission's articulated concerns with respect to potential fraud and manipulation in Bitcoin-based ETPs. Specifically, the Sponsor believes that, although Bitcoin is not itself inherently resistant to fraud and manipulation, the Index represents an effective means to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices. As discussed above, the Trust has used the Index to price the Shares for more than six years, and the Index has proven its ability to (i) mitigate the effects of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity on the Bitcoin reference rate, (ii) provide a real-time, volume-weighted fair value of bitcoin and (iii) appropriately handle and adjusts for non-market related events. The Sponsor also believes that the CME futures market is a significant, surveilled and regulated market that is closely connected with the spot market for Bitcoin and may fulfill the requirements for surveillance sharing given the Exchange's ability to obtain information from markets and other entities that are members of the ISG to assist in detecting and deterring misconduct.

The Chair's Remarks Regarding Bitcoin-Based ETP Proposals Registered Under the Investment Company Act of 1940

In an August 3, 2021 speech at the Aspen Security Forum, the Chair stated that he looked forward to the Commission's review of Bitcoin-based ETP proposals registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “ '40 Act”), “particularly if those are limited to [the] CME-traded Bitcoin futures,” noting the “significant investor protection” offered by the '40 Act. In this same speech, the Chair specifically identified the Trust in the context of existing investment vehicles that provide exposure to Bitcoin, noting that the Trust, which is a Bitcoin-based ETP proposal that would be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “ '33 Act”), rather than the '40 Act, is “the largest among them having been around for eight years and worth more than $20 billion.”

As described above, the Commission has outlined the reasons why prior Bitcoin-based ETP proposals registered under both the '40 Act and '33 Act have been unable to satisfy its concerns about pricing in the underlying Digital Asset Market due to the potential for fraud and manipulation and described how such concerns could be addressed. It has been the Sponsor's understanding that none of the stated requirements have indicated a preference for Bitcoin-based ETP proposals registered under the '40 Act versus the '33 Act. Nor does the Sponsor believe that such requirements can be addressed by gaining exposure to Bitcoin through Bitcoin futures in an ETP registered under the '40 Act rather than physical Bitcoin in an ETP registered under the '33 Act because both products would be reliant on Bitcoin's underlying price in the spot markets.

For instance, Bitcoin-based ETP proposals registered under the '40 Act that hold Bitcoin futures would be priced by referencing the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (“BRR”), which itself references the Digital Asset Markets: Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, itBit, and Kraken. Similarly, Bitcoin-based ETPs that would be registered under the '33 Act, like the Trust, would be priced by referencing Digital Asset Markets included in the BRR, such as through the Index. As a result, the Sponsor believes that any potential fraud or manipulation in the underlying Digital Asset Market would impact both types of ETP proposals.

The Sponsor believes that if it is the case that the Commission is open to reviewing and potentially approving proposals for Bitcoin-based ETPs registered under the '40 Act, then it should take a similar view towards proposals for Bitcoin-based ETPs registered under the '33 Act, given that both products would be reliant on Bitcoin's underlying price in the spot markets. Alternatively, if this is not the case, the Sponsor nonetheless believes that the foregoing responds to the Commission's articulated concerns with respect to potential fraud and manipulation in Bitcoin-based ETPs.

Creation of Shares

According to the Annual Report, the Trust will issue Shares to Authorized Participants from time to time, but only in one or more Baskets (with a Basket being a block of 100 Shares). The Trust will not issue fractions of a Basket. The creation of Baskets will be made only in exchange for the delivery to the Trust, or the distribution by the Trust, of the number of whole and fractional Bitcoins represented by each Basket being created, which is determined by dividing (x) the number of Bitcoins owned by the Trust at 4:00 p.m., E.T., on the trade date of a creation order, after deducting the number of Bitcoins representing the U.S. dollar value of accrued but unpaid fees and expenses of the Trust (converted using the Index Price at such time, and carried to the eighth decimal place), by (y) the number of Shares outstanding at such time (with the quotient so obtained calculated to one one-hundred-millionth of one Bitcoin ( i.e., carried to the eighth decimal place)), and multiplying such quotient by 100 (the “Basket Amount”). All questions as to the calculation of the Basket Amount will be conclusively determined by the Sponsor and will be final and binding on all persons interested in the Trust. The Basket Amount multiplied by the number of Baskets being created is the “Total Basket Amount.” The number of Bitcoins represented by a Share will gradually decrease over time as the Trust's Bitcoins are used to pay the Trust's expenses. As of June 30, 2021, each Share represented approximately 0.0009 of one Bitcoin.

Authorized Participants are the only persons that may place orders to create Baskets. Each Authorized Participant must (i) be a registered broker-dealer, (ii) enter into a Participant Agreement with the Sponsor and (iii) own a Bitcoin wallet address that is recognized by the Custodian as belonging to the Bitcoin wallet address that is known to the Custodian as belonging to the Authorized Participant. An Authorized Participant may act for its own account or as agent for broker-dealers, custodians and other securities market participants that wish to create or redeem Baskets. Shareholders who are not Authorized Participants will only be able to redeem their Shares through an Authorized Participant

The creation of Baskets requires the delivery to the Trust of the Total Basket Amount.

The Participant Agreement provides the procedures for the creation of Baskets and for the delivery of the whole and fractional Bitcoins required for such creations. The Participant Agreement and the related procedures attached thereto may be amended by the Sponsor and the relevant Authorized Participant. Under the Participant Agreement, the Sponsor has agreed to indemnify each Authorized Participant against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

Authorized Participants do not pay a transaction fee to the Trust in connection with the creation of Baskets, but there may be transaction fees associated with the validation of the transfer of Bitcoins by the Bitcoin Network. Authorized Participants who deposit Bitcoins with the Trust in exchange for Baskets will receive no fees, commissions or other form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either the Sponsor or the Trust, and no such person has any obligation or responsibility to the Sponsor or the Trust to effect any sale or resale of Shares.

Creation Procedures

On any business day, an Authorized Participant may order one or more creation Baskets from the Trust by placing a creation order with the Sponsor no later than 4:00 p.m., New York time, which the Sponsor will accept or reject. By placing a creation order, an Authorized Participant agrees to transfer the Total Basket Amount from the Bitcoin wallet address that is known to the Custodian as belonging to the Authorized Participant to the Digital Asset Account.

All creation orders are accepted (or rejected) by the Sponsor on the business day on which the relevant creation order is placed. If a creation order is accepted, the Sponsor will calculate the Total Basket Amount on the same business day, which will be the trade date, and will communicate the Total Basket Amount to the Authorized Participant. The Authorized Participant must transfer the Total Basket Amount to the Trust no later than 6:00 p.m., E.T., on the trade date. The expense and risk of delivery, ownership and safekeeping of Bitcoins will be borne solely by the Authorized Participant until such Bitcoin have been received by the Trust.

Following receipt of the Total Basket Amount by the Custodian, the Trust's transfer agent (“Transfer Agent”) will credit the number of Shares to the account of the Investor on behalf of which the Authorized Participant placed the creation order by no later than 6:00 p.m., E.T., on the trade date.

Redemption of Shares

The Trust may redeem Shares from time to time but only in Baskets. A Basket equals a block of 100 Shares. The number of outstanding Shares is expected to decrease from time to time as a result of the redemption of Baskets. The redemption of Baskets requires the distribution by the Trust of the number of Bitcoins represented by the Baskets being redeemed. The redemption of a Basket will be made only in exchange for the distribution by the Trust of the number of whole and fractional Bitcoins represented by each Basket being redeemed, the number of which is determined by dividing (x) the number of Bitcoins owned by the Trust at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the relevant trade date of a redemption order, after deducting the number of Bitcoins representing the U.S. dollar value of accrued but unpaid fees and expenses of the Trust (converted using the Index Price at such time, and carried to the eighth decimal place) by (y) the number of Shares outstanding at such time (with the quotient so obtained calculated to one one-hundred-millionth of one Bitcoin ( i.e., carried to the eighth decimal place)), and multiplying such quotient by 100.

Authorized Participants are the only persons that may place orders to redeem Baskets. Shareholders who are not Authorized Participants will be able to redeem their Shares only through an Authorized Participant.

Each Participant Agreement provides the procedures for the redemption of Baskets and for the delivery of the whole and fractional Bitcoins required for such redemption. The Participant Agreement and the related procedures attached thereto may be amended by the Sponsor and the relevant Authorized Participant.

Authorized Participants do not pay a transaction fee to the Trust in connection with the redemption of Baskets, but there may be transaction fees associated with the validation of the transfer of Bitcoins by the Bitcoin Network.

Redemption Procedures

On any business day, an Authorized Participant may place a redemption order no later than 4:00 p.m., New York time, which the Sponsor will accept or reject. By placing a redemption order, an Authorized Participant agrees to deliver to the Sponsor the Baskets to be redeemed through the book-entry system to the Trust. The redemption procedures do not allow a shareholder other than an Authorized Participant to redeem Shares. All redemption orders are accepted (or rejected) by the Sponsor on the business day on which the relevant redemption order is placed. If a redemption order is accepted, the Sponsor will calculate the Total Basket Amount on the same business day, which will be the trade date, and will communicate the Total Basket Amount to the Authorized Participant. The Sponsor will then direct the Transfer Agent to debit the account of the Authorized Participant the number of Baskets ordered no later than 6:00 p.m., New York time, on the trade date.

Following receipt of confirmation by the Transfer Agent that the Baskets have been debited, the Sponsor or its delegates will instruct the Custodian to send the Authorized Participant the Total Basket Amount by no later than 6:00 p.m., New York time, on the trade date.

The redemption of Shares may be suspended generally, or refused with respect to particular requested redemptions, during any period when the transfer books of the Transfer Agent are closed or if circumstances outside the control of the Sponsor or its delegates make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process such redemption orders. The Sponsor may reject an order or, after accepting an order, may cancel such order by rejecting the Baskets to be redeemed if (i) such order is not presented in proper form as described in the Participant Agreement or (ii) the fulfillment of the order, in the opinion of counsel, might be unlawful, among other reasons. None of the Sponsor or its delegates will be liable for the suspension, rejection or acceptance of any redemption order. In particular, upon the Trust's receipt of any Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency in connection with a fork, airdrop or similar event, the Sponsor may suspend redemptions until it is able to cause the Trust to sell or distribute such Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency.

Availability of Information

The Trust's website ( https://grayscale.com/products/grayscale-bitcoin-trust/ ) will include quantitative information on a per Share basis updated on a daily basis, including, (i) the current Digital Asset Holdings per Share daily and the prior business day's Digital Asset Holdings and the reported closing price; (ii) the mid-point of the bid-ask price in relation to the Digital Asset Holdings as of the time the Digital Asset Holdings is calculated (“Bid-Ask Price”) and a calculation of the premium or discount of such price against such Digital Asset Holdings; and (iii) data in chart format displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the daily Bid-Ask Price against the Digital Asset Holdings, within appropriate ranges, for each of the four previous calendar quarters (or for the life of the Trust, if shorter). In addition, on each business day the Trust's website will provide pricing information for the Shares.

The Trust's website, as well as one or more major market data vendors, will provide an intra-day indicative value (“IIV”) per Share updated every 15 seconds, as calculated by the Exchange or a third party financial data provider during the Exchange's Core Trading Session (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., E.T.). The IIV will be calculated using the same methodology as the Digital Asset Holdings of the Trust (as described above), specifically by using the prior day's closing Digital Asset Holdings per Share as a base and updating that value during the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session to reflect changes in the value of the Trust's Digital Asset Holdings during the trading day.

The IIV disseminated during the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session should not be viewed as an actual real-time update of the Digital Asset Holdings, which will be calculated only once at the end of each trading day. The IIV will be widely disseminated on a per Share basis every 15 seconds during the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session by one or more major market data vendors. In addition, the IIV will be available through on-line information services.

The Digital Asset Holdings for the Trust will be calculated by the Sponsor once a day and will be disseminated daily to all market participants at the same time. To the extent that the Sponsor has utilized the cascading set of rules described in “Index Price” above, the Trust's website will note the valuation methodology used and the price per Bitcoin resulting from such calculation. Quotation and last-sale information regarding the Shares will be disseminated through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association (“CTA”).

Quotation and last sale information for Bitcoin will be widely disseminated through a variety of major market data vendors, including Bloomberg and Reuters. In addition, the complete real-time price (and volume) data for Bitcoin is available by subscription from Reuters and Bloomberg. The spot price of Bitcoin is available on a 24-hour basis from major market data vendors, including Bloomberg and Reuters. Information relating to trading, including price and volume information, in Bitcoin will be available from major market data vendors and from the exchanges on which Bitcoin are traded. The normal trading hours for Digital Asset Exchanges are 24-hours per day, 365-days per year.

The Sponsor will publish the Index Price, the Trust's Digital Asset Holdings, and the Digital Asset Holdings per Share on the Trust's website as soon as practicable after its determination. If the Digital Asset Holdings and Digital Asset Holdings per Share have been calculated using a price per Bitcoin other than the Index Price for such Evaluation Time, the publication on the Trust's website will note the valuation methodology used and the price per Bitcoin resulting from such calculation.

The Trust will provide website disclosure of its Digital Asset Holdings daily. The website disclosure of the Trust's Digital Asset Holdings will occur at the same time as the disclosure by the Sponsor of the Digital Asset Holdings to Authorized Participants so that all market participants are provided such portfolio information at the same time. Therefore, the same portfolio information will be provided on the public website as well as in electronic files provided to Authorized Participants. Accordingly, each investor will have access to the current Digital Asset Holdings of the Trust through the Trust's website, as well as from one or more major market data vendors.

The value of the Index, as well as additional information regarding the Index, may be found at https://tradeblock.com/markets/index/xbx.

Trading Rules

The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on the NYSE Arca Marketplace from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., E.T. in accordance with NYSE Arca Rule 7.34-E (Early, Core, and Late Trading Sessions). The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares during all trading sessions. As provided in NYSE Arca Rule 7.6-E, the minimum price variation (“MPV”) for quoting and entry of orders in equity securities traded on the NYSE Arca Marketplace is $0.01, with the exception of securities that are priced less than $1.00, for which the MPV for order entry is $0.0001.

The Shares will conform to the initial and continued listing criteria under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E. The trading of the Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E(g), which sets forth certain restrictions on Equity Trading Permit (“ETP”) Holders acting as registered Market Makers in Commodity-Based Trust Shares to facilitate surveillance. The Exchange represents that, for initial and continued listing, the Trust will be in compliance with Rule 10A-3 under the Act, as provided by NYSE Arca Rule 5.3-E. A minimum of 100,000 Shares of the Trust will be outstanding at the commencement of trading on the Exchange.

Trading Halts

With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend trading in the Shares of the Trust. Trading in Shares of the Trust will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable.

The Exchange may halt trading during the day in which an interruption to the dissemination of the IIV or the value of the Index occurs. If the interruption to the dissemination of the IIV or the value of the Index persists past the trading day in which it occurred, the Exchange will halt trading no later than the beginning of the trading day following the interruption. In addition, if the Exchange becomes aware that the Digital Asset Holdings per Share is not disseminated to all market participants at the same time, it will halt trading in the Shares until such time as the Digital Asset Holdings per Share is available to all market participants.

Surveillance

The Exchange represents that trading in the Shares of the Trust will be subject to the existing trading surveillances administered by the Exchange, as well as cross-market surveillances administered by FINRA on behalf of the Exchange, which are designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange represents that these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading of the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and federal securities laws applicable to trading on the Exchange.

The surveillances referred to above generally focus on detecting securities trading outside their normal patterns, which could be indicative of manipulative or other violative activity. When such situations are detected, surveillance analysis follows and investigations are opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of all relevant parties for all relevant trading violations.

The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other markets and other entities that are members of the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, may obtain trading information regarding trading in the Shares from such markets and other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares from markets and other entities that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement (“CSSA”). The Exchange is also able to obtain information regarding trading in the Shares in connection with such ETP Holders' proprietary or customer trades which they effect through ETP Holders on any relevant market.

In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.

All statements and representations made in this filing regarding (a) the description of the portfolios of the Trust, (b) limitations on portfolio holdings or reference assets, or (c) the applicability of Exchange listing rules specified in this rule filing shall constitute continued listing requirements for listing the Shares on the Exchange.

The Sponsor has represented to the Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by the Trust to comply with the continued listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange will monitor for compliance with the continued listing requirements. If the Trust is not in compliance with the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures under NYSE Arca Rule 5.5-E(m).

Information Bulletin

Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its ETP Holders in an “Information Bulletin” of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the Information Bulletin will discuss the following: (1) The procedures for creations of Shares in Baskets; (2) NYSE Arca Rule 9.2-E(a), which imposes a duty of due diligence on its ETP Holders to learn the essential facts relating to every customer prior to trading the Shares; (3) information regarding how the value of the Index and the IIV are disseminated; (4) the possibility that trading spreads and the resulting premium or discount on the Shares may widen during the Opening and Late Trading Sessions, when an updated IIV will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; and (5) trading information. The Exchange notes that investors purchasing Shares directly from the Trust will receive a prospectus.

In addition, the Information Bulletin will reference that the Trust is subject to various fees and expenses as described in the Annual Report. The Information Bulletin will disclose that information about the Shares of the Trust is publicly available on the Trust's website.

The Information Bulletin will also discuss any relief, if granted, by the Commission or the staff from any rules under the Act.

2. Statutory Basis

The basis under the Act for this proposed rule change is the requirement under Section 6(b)(5) that an exchange have rules that are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest.

The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in that the Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange pursuant to the initial and continued listing criteria in NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E. The Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate to properly monitor trading in the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other markets that are members of the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, may obtain trading information regarding trading in the Shares from such markets. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares from markets that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a CSSA. Also, pursuant to NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E(g), the Exchange is able to obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and the underlying Bitcoin or any Bitcoin derivative through ETP Holders acting as registered Market Makers, in connection with such ETP Holders' proprietary or customer trades through ETP Holders which they effect on any relevant market.

The proposed rule change is also designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices because, although the Digital Asset Exchange Market is not inherently resistant to fraud and manipulation, the Index serves as a means sufficient to mitigate the impact of instances of fraud and manipulation on a reference price for Bitcoin. Specifically, the Index provides a better benchmark for the price of Bitcoin than the Digital Asset Exchange Market Price because it (1) tracks the Digital Asset Exchange Market Price through trading activity at U.S.-Compliant Exchanges; (2) mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity in real-time through systematic adjustments; (3) is constructed and maintained by an expert third-party index provider, allowing for prudent handling of non-market-related events; (4) mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity concentrated on any one specific exchange through a cross-exchange composite index rate; and (5) mitigates the impact of instances of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity occurring on multiple exchanges by using a 24-hour window to weight the activity at each exchange through a VWAP. The Trust has used the Index to price the Shares for more than six years, and the Index has proven its ability to (i) mitigate the effects of fraud, manipulation and other anomalous trading activity from impacting the Bitcoin reference rate, (ii) provide a real-time, volume-weighted fair value of bitcoin and (iii) appropriately handle and adjusts for non-market related events, such that efforts to manipulate the price of Bitcoin would have had a negligible effect on the pricing of the Trust, due to the controls embedded in the structure of the Index. In addition, certain of the Index's Constituent Exchanges also have or have begun to implement market surveillance infrastructure to further detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, attempted fraud, and similar wrongdoing, including market manipulation. The proposed rule change is also designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices based on the existence of the CME futures market as a large, surveilled and regulated market that is closely connected with the spot market for Bitcoin and through which the Exchange could obtain information to assist in detecting and deterring potential fraud or manipulation.

The proposed rule change is designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade and to protect investors and the public interest in that there is a considerable amount of Bitcoin price and market information available on public websites and through professional and subscription services. Investors may obtain, on a 24-hour basis, Bitcoin pricing information based on the spot price for Bitcoin from various financial information service providers. The closing price and settlement prices of Bitcoin are readily available from the Digital Asset Exchanges and other publicly available websites. In addition, such prices are published in public sources, or on-line information services such as Bloomberg and Reuters. The Digital Asset Holdings per Share will be calculated daily and made available to all market participants at the same time. The Trust will provide website disclosure of its Digital Asset Holdings daily. One or more major market data vendors will disseminate for the Trust on a daily basis information with respect to the most recent Digital Asset Holdings per Share and Shares outstanding. In addition, if the Exchange becomes aware that the Digital Asset Holdings per Share is not disseminated to all market participants at the same time, it will halt trading in the Shares until such time as the Digital Asset Holdings is available to all market participants. Quotation and last-sale information regarding the Shares will be disseminated through the facilities of the CTA. The IIV will be widely disseminated on a per Share basis every 15 seconds during the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session (normally 9:30 a.m., E.T., to 4:00 p.m., E.T.) by one or more major market data vendors. In addition, the IIV will be available on the Trust's website through on-line information services. The Exchange represents that the Exchange may halt trading during the day in which an interruption to the dissemination of the IIV or the value of the Index occurs. If the interruption to the dissemination of the IIV or the value of the Index persists past the trading day in which it occurred, the Exchange will halt trading no later than the beginning of the trading day following the interruption.

The proposed rule change is designed to perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest in that it will facilitate the listing and trading of an additional type of exchange-traded product that will enhance competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace. As noted above, the Exchange has in place surveillance procedures relating to trading in the Shares and may obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has entered into a CSSA. In addition, as noted above, investors will have ready access to information regarding the Trust's Digital Asset Holdings, IIV, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange notes that the proposed rule change will facilitate the listing and trading of an additional type of exchange-traded product, and the first such product based on Bitcoin, which will enhance competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action

Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register or up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may designate if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:

(A) By order approve or disapprove the proposed rule change, or

(B) institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

• Use the Commission's internet comment form ( http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ); or

• Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-90 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

• Send paper comments in triplicate to: Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-90. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's internet website ( http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying information from comment submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-90 and should be submitted on or before November 29, 2021.