Receipts Depositary Corporation (RDC) today announced the launch of the first ever Bitcoin depositary receipt (BTC DR). RDC expects to issue the first BTC DRs in transactions exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 to Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) in the coming weeks. BTC DRs are now available on an ongoing basis for issuance to QIBs.
A DTC-ELIGIBLE BITCOIN SECURITY
BTC DRs follow the same construction as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and like ADRs, BTC DRs operate within US-regulated market infrastructure and are cleared through The Depository Trust Company (DTC). BTC DRs have been issued a CUSIP number and an ISIN.
AN ESTABLISHED, REGULATED FINANCIAL PRODUCT
The first ADR was created in 1927. Today, ADRs are used by over 6,500 global financial institutions, including multinational banks, brokers and hedge funds. These institutional investors collectively own over $1 trillion in traditional DR securities and use them to invest in, transact, clear and settle foreign assets in the United States as easily as domestic securities. BTC DRs enable QIBs to own Bitcoin using the same technology, workflows and counterparty relationships they use for traditional securities by leveraging their standard transaction, custody and settlement operations.
"We are excited to provide qualified institutional buyers with the secure, regulated access to digital assets they have been waiting for via BTC DRs," said Ankit Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO of RDC. "There are many benefits to using depositary receipts, such as their tried and true structure, providing direct ownership of the underlying asset and easy inclusion in institutional products. BTC DRs are universally fungible as QIBs can convert their Bitcoin holdings into DRs and vice versa."
"Depositary receipts are a simple solution to complex access problems for institutional investors," said Matthew Taback, Senior Market Maker, GTS.
DIRECT OWNERSHIP OF BITCOIN THROUGH AN SEC-REGULATED TRANSFER AGENT AND OCC-REGULATED CUSTODIAN
Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, LLC is serving as RDC's SEC-registered transfer agent and Anchorage Digital Bank National Association, the first and only OCC-regulated and federally chartered digital asset bank, will provide custody in a bankruptcy remote structure. All Bitcoin represented by BTC DRs will be held at the custodian for the exclusive benefit of the BTC DR holders. RDC's model requires that all BTC DRs are 100% backed by Bitcoin held in custody, which cannot be lent, re-hypothecated, or pledged. BTC DRs enable direct ownership of the underlying asset, are fully fungible and represent a direct claim on Bitcoin held in custody, while mitigating counterparty credit risk from the issuing depositary. BTC DRs leverage existing workflows and use the existing securities ecosystem to provide robust risk management and asset protection.
DRs CAN BE USED FOR DIGITAL AND NON-DIGITAL ASSETS
BTC DRs are RDC's first offering, but RDC is available to create clearinghouse-eligible securities for other alternative assets. The company's three founders, Ankit Mehta, Bryant Kim and Ishaan Narain, each spent nearly a decade at a leading DR business, where they worked closely with issuers and investors to evolve DR market structure.
"The RDC team has some of the strongest talent available in the highly technical world of depositary receipts," said Diogo Mónica, president and co-founder, Anchorage Digital. "They know the market extremely well and had the vision and ability to bring a well-established financial product to digital assets. And, with the underlying BTC safely stored via institutional-grade custody at Anchorage Digital Bank, we're excited to help bring BTC to the securities ecosystem."
