SecondMarket has launched the Bitcoin Investment Trust, a fund dedicated exclusively to investing in the virtual currency.
The trust is open only to accredited investors who put in at least $25,000, says SecondMarket, which has already capitalised it with an initial $2.25 million. Investors will be able to get liquidity through auctions starting next year.
On its Web site, the trust says that it will make it easier for investors to take advantage of bitcoin, stripping out the difficulties associated with buying the actual currency in a fragmented, illiquid market that faces regulatory concerns.
The fund is also promising state-of-the-art security protocols to store the currency and has brought in Ernst & Young as auditor.
Barry Silbert, CEO, SecondMarket, says: "We incubated the BIT to alleviate the problems of direct bitcoin ownership, including having to wire money to newly-established and potentially unregulated entities around the world."
This summer the Winklevoss twins filed with the SEC to register their own bitcoin exchange traded fund. The Bitcoin Investment Trust does not need to register with the SEC because it is limited to accredited investors.