Ninepoint Proposes Conversion of Bitcoin Trust into Exchange Traded Fund
04 March 2021 - 12:00AM
Ninepoint Partners LP (“
Ninepoint”), the manager
of Bitcoin Trust (the “
Fund”) (TSX: BITC.U;
BITC.UN), announces that a special meeting of unitholders
(“
Unitholders”) of the Fund will be held on or
about April 19, 2021 (the “
Meeting”).
At the Meeting, Unitholders will be asked to
approve the conversion of the Fund (the
“Conversion”) from a closed-end investment fund
into an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), along with
certain other changes considered ancillary, necessary or desirable,
in the opinion of Ninepoint to facilitate and implement the
Conversion. Upon the effective date of the Conversion, the Fund
will become “Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF”. The Fund will continue to
trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under
its current ticker symbols until the effective date of the
Conversion. Subject to the fulfillment of TSX
requirements, after the Conversion, Ninepoint expects that the
units of Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF will continue to trade on the TSX in
US dollars under the symbol “BITC.U” and will trade on the TSX in
Canadian dollars under the symbol “BITC”.
“By taking this step, Ninepoint is demonstrating
its long-term commitment to being Canada’s leading provider of
innovative, safe and efficient digital asset investment products,”
said James Fox, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Ninepoint.
All costs of the Conversion, including with
respect to the Meeting, will be borne by Ninepoint.
Ninepoint believes that Unitholders will benefit
from the Conversion for the following reasons:
- Better
Trading Price Relative to NAV per Unit and Reduced Bid/Ask
Spread: Ninepoint anticipates that an improvement in the
trading price of the units of the Fund (relative to the NAV per
unit of the Fund) will provide a meaningful increase in value for
Unitholders. As at March 2, 2021, prior to the announcement of the
Meeting, the Fund had a 9.13% discount to NAV in US dollars
(BITC.U), and a 9.37% discount to NAV in Canadian dollars
(BITC.UN), respectively. Market makers for ETFs are able to price
their bids and asks for ETF units tightly around their estimate of
NAV. It is expected that bid/ask spreads will be significantly
reduced from the Fund’s bid/ask spread. This is beneficial to
investors because a smaller bid/ask spread is expected to result in
a lower effective cost to buy or sell ETF units.
-
Increased Trading Liquidity: Approved
dealers acting as market makers for an ETF are able to offer or bid
for large volumes of that ETF on a stock exchange, as approved
dealers have the ability to create or redeem ETF units daily in
large blocks directly from the ETF. This is expected to result in
improved liquidity, allowing an investor to buy or sell large
amounts of Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF units without materially affecting
the market price.
- No
Change to Investment Strategy: The specific investment
strategies of the Fund are expected to remain substantially
similar, before and after the Conversion.
Unitholders of record of the Fund at the close
of business on March 19, 2021 will be entitled to vote at the
Meeting. If approved, the Conversion is expected to be implemented
in May 2021, subject to obtaining the required regulatory
approvals. Details of the proposed Conversion will be further
outlined in the Fund’s Notice of Special Meeting of Unitholders and
management information circular that will be prepared and delivered
to Unitholders in connection with the Meeting and will be available
under the Fund’s profile on www.sedar.com.
About Ninepoint Partners LP
Based in Toronto, Ninepoint Partners is one of
Canada’s leading alternative investment management firms overseeing
approximately $8 billion in assets under management and
institutional contracts. Committed to helping investors explore
innovative investment solutions that have the potential to enhance
returns and manage portfolio risk, Ninepoint offers a diverse set
of alternative strategies including North American Equity, Global
Equity, Real Assets & Alternative Income. Ninepoint Digital
Asset Group is a division of Ninepoint Partners.
For more information on Ninepoint, please visit
www.ninepoint.com or inquiries regarding the Offering, please
contact us at (416) 943-6707 or (866) 299-9906 or
invest@ninepoint.com.
Media Contact:Wealth Matters ConsultingMary
Victoria Falzarano561-578-0697MVF@WEALTHMATTERSCONSULTING.COM
Certain statements included in this news release
constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited
to, those identified by the expressions “expects”, “intends”,
“anticipates”, “will” and similar expressions to the extent that
they relate to the Fund. The forward-looking statements are not
historical facts but reflect Ninepoint's current expectations
regarding future results or events. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results or events to differ materially from
current expectations. Although Ninepoint believes the assumptions
inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable,
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and, accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Neither
the Fund nor Ninepoint undertake any obligation to update publicly
or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement or information
whether as a result of new information, future events or other such
factors which affect this information, except as required by
law.
Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF (TSX:BITC.U)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2025 to Feb 2025
Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF (TSX:BITC.U)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Feb 2025