Former Citi execs plan ‘SEC free’ bitcoin-backed securities

investmentnews.com:

As speculation about the upcoming approval or denial of spot bitcoin ETFs reaches a fever pitch, a group of former Citigroup Inc. executives is starting to offer securities backed by the oldest cryptocurrency that they say don’t need the blessing of U.S. regulators. 

The new offering, called bitcoin depositary receipts, will be similar to American depositary receipts that represent foreign stocks. The startup, called Receipts Depositary Corporation, or RDC, said it plans to issue the first bitcoin depositary receipts to qualified global institutional investors in transactions exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933.

Known as BTC DRs, the offering will give institutions access to bitcoin securities through U.S. regulated market infrastructure and cleared through the Depository Trust Co., according to a release from the company.

“We are really a conversion tool for asset owners today, whether they are hedge funds, family offices, corporations, large institutional investors, that want to take their bitcoin and convert it into a DTC-eligible security and enjoy direct ownership in the U.S. clearances,” Ankit Mehta, the co-founder and chief executive of RDC and a former executive at Citigroup, said in an interview. 

Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions will serve as the transfer agent and Anchorage Digital Bank National Association will handle custody of the underlying Bitcoin. RDC is backed by investors including Franklin Templeton, BTIG and Broadhaven Ventures, according to its press release.

This week bitcoin broke above $45,000 for the first time in nearly two years as optimism grew over the likelihood that the Securities and Exchange Commission will soon approve exchange-traded funds that invest