SEC Comment Letter 0000000000-24-000181 to iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF
Date: Jan. 5, 2024 · CIK: 0001980994 · Accession: 0000000000-24-000181
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File numbers found in text: 333-272680
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United States securities and exchange commission logo
January 5, 2024
Shannon Ghia
Chief Executive Officer
iShares Bitcoin Trust
c/o iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC
400 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Re:iShares Bitcoin Trust
Amendment No. 5 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
Filed December 29, 2023
File No. 333-272680
Dear Shannon Ghia:
We have reviewed your amended registration statement and have the following
comments.
Please respond to this letter by amending your registration statement and providing the
requested information. If you do not believe a comment applies to your facts and circumstances
or do not believe an amendment is appropriate, please tell us why in your response.
After reviewing any amendment to your registration statement and the information you
provide in response to this letter, we may have additional comments. Unless we note otherwise,
any references to prior comments are to comments in our December 18, 2023 letter.
Amendment No. 5 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
General
1.Refer to your response to comment 16. Please revise your disclosure on pages 10, 22,
50 and elsewhere as appropriate to clarify, if true, that with respect to any fork, airdrop or
similar event, the Sponsor will cause the Trust to irrevocably abandon the Incidental
Rights or IR Virtual Currency and in the event the Trust seeks to change this position, an
application would need to be filed with the SEC by your listing exchange seeking
approval to amend its listing rules. Please also revise to clarify, if true, that the only crypto
asset to be held by the Trust will be bitcoin.
FirstName LastNameShannon Ghia
Comapany NameiShares Bitcoin Trust
January 5, 2024 Page 2
FirstName LastName
Shannon Ghia
iShares Bitcoin Trust
January 5, 2024
Page 2
Prospectus Summary
Trust Structure, the Sponsor, the Trustee, the Delaware Trustee and the Custodians, page 1
2.We note your disclosure that "[s]ubject to the In-Kind Regulatory Approval, these
transactions may also take place in exchange for bitcoin." We have the following
comments:
•Please revise your cover page and throughout to clarify that the timing of In-Kind
Regulatory Approval is unknown and that there is no guarantee that the Exchange
will receive In-Kind Regulatory Approval.
•Please revise to clarify your prospectus summary and throughout how you will
inform shareholders if the Exchange receives In-Kind Regulatory Approval and if the
Sponsor chooses to allow in-kind creations and redemptions.
•Please confirm your understanding, consistent with the undertaking required by Item
512(a)(1)(iii) of Regulation S-K, that you will file a post-effective amendment to
include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not
previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information.
Business of the Trust
Net Asset Value, page 61
3.Refer to your responses to comment 6 in our September 29, 2023 letter and related
subsequent comments. We note your revised disclosure that the Trust will only allow
cash redemptions, and observe that this change may have an impact on your fair value
accounting policy, including principal market determination under ASC Topic 820.
Please confirm your understanding that our decision not to issue additional comments
should not be interpreted to mean that we either agree or disagree with your responses and
your current fair value accounting policy. Please also confirm your understanding that we
may comment further on this matter in future filing reviews once the Trust is operational.
4.Refer to your response to comment 3. Please revise your disclosure on page 61 to clarify
whether the Sponsor has a license agreement with the Secondary Index.
Valuation of Bitcoin; The CF Benchmark Index, page 62
5.Refer to your response to comment 5. Please revise to disclose how the Trust will notify
investors of material changes to the CF Benchmarks Index's methodology.
Description of the Shares and the Trust Agreement
Creation and Redemption, page 69
6.We note your revised disclosure on page 69. Please revise to identify the Bitcoin Trading
Counterparties. Please also disclose the material terms of any agreements with such
trading counterparties.
FirstName LastNameShannon Ghia
Comapany NameiShares Bitcoin Trust
January 5, 2024 Page 3
FirstName LastName
Shannon Ghia
iShares Bitcoin Trust
January 5, 2024
Page 3
Venue Provision, page 76
7.Refer to your response to comment 15. Section 7.5 of the Second Amended and Restated
Trust Agreement and your December 22, 2023 response letter state that the Exclusive
Jurisdiction provision does not apply to causes of action for violation of the Exchange Act
or the Securities Act. Please revise your disclosure in the prospectus for consistency. In
addition, please revise your disclosure on page 76 to disclose that the waiver of jury trial
provision does not apply to causes of action for violation of the Exchange Act or
Securities Act. Also, please revise to describe the restrictions of the right to bring a
derivative action. In this regard, we note the terms in Section 3.5 of the Second Amended
and Restated Trust Agreement.
The Prime Execution Agent and The Trade Credit Lender
The Trade Credit Lender, page 87
8.Please revise to disclose here the maximum amount of Trade Credits that the Trust may
borrow, if any, and describe the term and termination provisions of the Trade Financing
Agreement.
Financial Statements
General, page 102
9.Please include an updated consent from your independent registered accounting firm in
your next amendment.
Please contact David Irving at 202-551-3321 or Robert Telewicz at 202-551-3438 if you
have questions regarding comments on the financial statements and related matters. Please
contact Sonia Bednarowski at 202-551-3666 or Justin Dobbie at 202-551-3469 with any other
questions.
Sincerely,
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Crypto Assets