Bitcoin Investment Trust Shares Retreat After Hitting $54

Shares of Grayscale Investment’s Bitcoin Investment Trust are trading at their highest premiums relative to their underlying Bitcoin value since their public debut in May this year, Finance Magnates reported. The BIT’s shares are the first publicly quoted securities solely invested in and deriving value from the price of bitcoin.

On Bitcoin Black Friday, the shares closed higher by 11.96 percent at US$47.00 in a short-term trading, after reaching an intraday high of $51.50. This seemed to be in response to the bitcoin’s rally the previous day to $370 on Bitstamp. The closing price corresponds to an underlying bitcoin value of $490 – a 36% premium to the actual bitcoin price of $359. Each share at present represents approximately 0.0959 BTC.

On Monday, the shares rose to a high of $54.00, but lost momentum and turned red, closing at $45.00.

Finance Magnates reports that shares hit $57 last month during bitcoin’s spike to $500 levels. Premiums have been rising in response to that hike, perhaps due to a renewed investor interest for one of the only regulated Bitcoin instruments available to the public.

Initially, investors paid premiums in excess of 100% to acquire the shares when they made their debut in May. Later, the shares dropped 80% of their premium and have since then floated between 10% and 25%.

Bitcoin Investment Trust shares are marketed and distributed through Genesis Global Trading, Inc. a US-based FINRA registered broker-dealer. The Bitcoin Investment Trust was structured with guidance from Sidley Austin LLP and financial statements for the Bitcoin Investment Trust are audited annually by Friedman LLP.

Grayscale Investments appointed Friedman LLP to be the company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2015. Friedman will be replacing its previous independent auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, effective on November 27, 2015.