The Winklevoss Twins Would Like To Help You Trade Bitcoins With Their Bitcoin ETF

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Cameron (L) and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of ConnectU Inc., leave the U.S. District Court in Boston, Massachusetts July 25, 2007 following a court hearing on ConnectU's lawsuit against Facebook Inc.

Bitcoin, the obscure digital crypto-currency, has been out of the headlines for a little while.

But this hasn't stopped Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss from moving forward with their effort to make it more mainstream.

According to a new filing with the SEC, a trust sponsored by Winklevoss Capital Management has registered to offer shares the will give buyers exposure to Bitcoin.

"The Trust holds “Bitcoins,” a digital commodity based on an open source cryptographic protocol existing on the online, end-user-to-end-user network hosting the public transaction ledger, known as the “Blockchain,” and the source code comprising the basis for the cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the issuance of and transactions in Bitcoins," reads the filing.

"The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of a weighted average price of Bitcoins, less the Trust’s expenses. The Sponsor believes that, for many investors, the Shares will represent a cost-effective and convenient means to access exposure to Bitcoins."

It appears that this will operate like an exchange-traded fund (ETF), a security that basically trades like a stock.

The ticker symbol for the fund has yet to be determined.

The Winklevosses became famous when they sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly taking an idea that was theirs.

Before you even consider trading Bitcoin, you should consider the risks. Like this one from the filing:

If a malicious actor or botnet obtains control in excess of 50 percent of the processing power active on the Bitcoin Network, such actor or botnet could manipulate the source code of the Bitcoin Network or the Blockchain in a manner that adversely affects an investment in the Shares or the ability of the Trust to operate.

If this is incomprehensible to you, then maybe Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust isn't for you.

Read the whole filing at SEC.gov.

View the original article here