GBTC vs. BTC: What Are the Differences?

Did you know that the first cryptocurrency was called eCash and it was released in 1983? If you are new to the world of cryptocurrency and are hearing the terms GBTC and BTC, but are not sure what the differences are, you are in the right place.

We have put together this short guide to share more about GBTC vs. BTC.

Read on to learn more.

What Is GBTC?

GBTC is a trust that allows a person to invest in Bitcoin. Keep in mind that Grayscale Bitcoin only holds Bitcoin. GBTC is registered by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and it reports to the Commission.

What Is BTC?

Bitcoin is considered the “grandpa” of the cryptocurrency world because it is the first crypto to truly be accepted as a digital currency. It was released in 2009 to the public as a decentralized coin.

All the coins are digital and exist on what’s called a blockchain. There are only so many coins available so once they are all mined, no more Bitcoins can be made.

Price

The price fluctuations that GBTC experiences follow the price movements from BTC. They don’t always follow the movement right away, sometimes they are a bit late to display the changes.

While BTC is traded any time of day (24/7), GBTC is only traded during the standard market hours (6 am to 5 pm). This means that when BTC price collapses or goes down during the night, GBTC investors are not able to sell their stocks right away to try to save some of their funds.

The price of bitcoin CAD or USD is differentiated by the currency exchange in those countries but Bitcoin’s value itself is the same all around the globe. BTC is the more popular and more expensive crypto option out there. GBTC has never been valued at more than around $50 per coin, where BTC has seen a value of around $60,000 at one point.

Technical Aspects

GBTC are stocks from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, so they are not a cryptocurrency all on their own. Their token form is considered a crypto.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, is a cryptocurrency. BTC has its own blockchain and it is used by many online platforms. The main goal of Bitcoin when it was released was to replace fiat money.

BTC offers fairly fast peer-to-peer transactions and at a relatively cheap cost. The new coins for Bitcoin are created by “miners” that have powerful computers that solve complex math problems that help mine new tokens for the public to buy.

Feeling Like a GBTC vs. BTC Pro?

Now that we cleared up the GBTC vs. BTC debate, you can make an informed decision on whether you want to spend your hard-earned money on either or.

If our blog post came in handy, there’s more where this came from. Make sure you keep browsing this section for our latest guides.