Bitcoin Daily: RBC Won’t Launch Crypto Exchange; Grayscale First Bitcoin Fund To File With SEC

Despite previous reports, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is not planning on launching its own digital currency trading platform.

Last week it was reported that RBC’s planned trading platform would “facilitate buying and selling of individual digital coins, including bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), as well as the transfer of funds combining different types of cryptocurrencies.” However, Canada’s largest bank told Cointelegraph that “recent media articles have commented on certain patent applications made by RBC in relation to blockchain technology, and speculated on the applications of these patents.”

RBC explained that the patents are unrelated to the development of a crypto exchange. “As part of the innovation and discovery process, RBC, like many other organizations, files patent applications to ensure proprietary ideas and concepts are protected,” the bank said.

In other news, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) announced that it has publicly filed a Registration Statement on Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The filing is subject to SEC review. If it is deemed effective, GBTC would be designated as the first digital currency investment vehicle to attain the status of a reporting company by the SEC.

“We want to be clear that this voluntary filing is not and should not be confused as an effort to classify the Trust as an exchange traded fund (ETF). Our products are not ETFs, but they do have a familiar structure to investors because they’re modeled after popular investment products,” the company wrote in a blog post. “If the Form 10 is deemed effective, the structure of the Trust will not change and it will continue to not operate a redemption program nor trade on a national securities exchange.”

GBTC said that accredited investors will benefit if the filing is approved, explaining that they “would have an earlier liquidity opportunity, as the statutory holding period of their private placement shares would be reduced from 12 to 6 months.”