Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 1 to a Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust Under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d)

On June 29, 2023, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq” or “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”), pursuant to section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) and Rule 19b–4 thereunder, a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d), Commodity-Based Trust Shares. The proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on July 19, 2023. On August 31, 2023, pursuant to section 19(b)(2) of the Act, the Commission designated a longer period within which to approve the proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove the proposed rule change. On September 28, 2023, the Commission instituted proceedings to determine whether to disapprove the proposed rule change. On January 5, 2024, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. Amendment No. 1 amended and replaced the proposed rule change in its entirety. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 1, from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (the “ Trust”) under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d) (“Commodity-Based Trust Shares”). The shares of the Trust are referred to herein as the “ Shares.” This Amendment No. 1 supersedes the original filing in its entirety.

The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's website at https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose

The Exchange proposes to list and trade the Shares under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d), which governs the listing and trading of Commodity-Based Trust Shares on the Exchange. iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”), is the sponsor of the Trust (the “Sponsor”). The Shares will be registered with the SEC by means of the Trust's registration statement on Form S–1 (the “Registration Statement”).

Description of the Trust

The Shares will be issued by the Trust, a Delaware statutory trust. The Trust will operate pursuant to a trust agreement (the “Trust Agreement”) between the Sponsor, BlackRock Fund Advisors (the “Trustee”) as the trustee of the Trust and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Delaware trustee (the “Delaware Trustee”). The Trust issues Shares representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. The assets of the Trust will consist only of bitcoin, held by a custodian on behalf of the Trust except under limited circumstances when transferred through the Trust's prime broker temporarily (described below), and cash. Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC (the “Bitcoin Custodian”) is the custodian for the Trust's bitcoin holdings, and maintains a custody account for the Trust (“Custody Account); Coinbase, Inc. (the “Prime Execution Agent”), an affiliate of the Bitcoin Custodian, is the prime broker for the Trust and maintains a trading account for the Trust (“Trading Account); and Bank of New York Mellon is the custodian for the Trust's cash holdings (the “Cash Custodian” and together with the Bitcoin Custodian, the “Custodians”) and the administrator of the Trust (the “Trust Administrator”). Under the Trust Agreement, the Trustee may delegate all or a portion of its duties to any agent, and has delegated the bulk of the day-to-day responsibilities to the Trust Administrator and certain other administrative and record-keeping functions to its affiliates and other agents. The Trust is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

The investment objective of the Trust is to reflect generally the performance of the price of bitcoin. The Trust seeks to reflect such performance before payment of the Trust's expenses and liabilities. The Shares are intended to constitute a simple means of making an investment similar to an investment in bitcoin through the public securities market rather than by acquiring, holding and trading bitcoin directly on a peer-to-peer or other basis or via a digital asset platform. The Shares have been designed to remove the obstacles represented by the complexities and operational burdens involved in a direct investment in bitcoin, while at the same time having an intrinsic value that reflects, at any given time, the investment exposure to the bitcoin owned by the Trust at such time, less the Trust's expenses and liabilities. Although the Shares are not the exact equivalent of a direct investment in bitcoin, they provide investors with an alternative method of achieving investment exposure to bitcoin through the public securities market, which may be more familiar to them.

Custody of the Trust's Bitcoin and Creation and Redemption

An investment in the Shares is backed by bitcoin held by the Bitcoin Custodian on behalf of the Trust. All of the Trust's bitcoin will be held in the Custody Account, other than the Trust's bitcoin which is temporarily maintained in the Trading Account under limited circumstances, i.e., in connection with creation and redemption Basket activity or sales of bitcoin deducted from the Trust's holdings in payment of Trust expenses or the Sponsor's fee (or, in extraordinary circumstances, upon liquidation of the Trust). The Custody Account includes all of the Trust's bitcoin held at the Bitcoin Custodian, but does not include the Trust's bitcoin temporarily maintained at the Prime Execution Agent in the Trading Account from time to time. The Bitcoin Custodian will keep all of the private keys associated with the Trust's bitcoin held in the Custody Account in “cold storage”. The hardware, software, systems, and procedures of the Bitcoin Custodian may not be available or cost-effective for many investors to access directly.

The Trust's bitcoin holdings and cash holdings from time to time may temporarily be maintained in the Trading Account held with the Prime Execution Agent, an affiliate of the Bitcoin Custodian. Coinbase Inc. serves as the Trust's Prime Execution Agent pursuant to the Trust's agreement with the Prime Execution Agent (“Prime Execution Agent Agreement”). In this capacity, the Prime Execution Agent facilitates the buying and selling of bitcoin by the Trust in response to cash creations and redemptions between the Trust and registered broker-dealers that are Depositary Trust Company (“DTC”) participants that enter into an authorized participant agreement with the Sponsor and the Trustee (“Authorized Participants”), and the sale of bitcoin to pay the Sponsor's fee, any other Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor, to the extent applicable, and in extraordinary circumstances, in connection with the liquidation of the Trust's bitcoin.

The Authorized Participants will deliver only cash to create shares and will receive only cash when redeeming shares. Further, Authorized Participants will not directly or indirectly purchase, hold, deliver, or receive bitcoin as part of the creation or redemption process or otherwise direct the Trust or a third party with respect to purchasing, holding, delivering, or receiving bitcoin as part of the creation or redemption process.

The Trust will create shares by receiving bitcoin from a third party that is not the Authorized Participant and the Trust—not the Authorized Participant—is responsible for selecting the third party to deliver the bitcoin. Further, the third party will not be acting as an agent of the Authorized Participant with respect to the delivery of the bitcoin to the Trust or acting at the direction of the Authorized Participant with respect to the delivery of the bitcoin to the Trust. The Trust will redeem shares by delivering bitcoin to a third party that is not the Authorized Participant and the Trust—not the Authorized Participant—is responsible for selecting the third party to receive the bitcoin. Further, the third party will not be acting as an agent of the Authorized Participant with respect to the receipt of the bitcoin from the Trust or acting at the direction of the Authorized Participant with respect to the receipt of the bitcoin from the Trust. The third party will be unaffiliated with the Trust and the Sponsor.

In connection with cash creations and cash redemptions, the Authorized Participants will submit orders to create or redeem Baskets of Shares exclusively in exchange for cash. The Trust will engage in bitcoin transactions to convert cash into bitcoin (in association with creation orders) and bitcoin into cash (in association with redemption orders). The Trust will conduct its bitcoin purchase and sale transactions by, in its sole discretion, choosing to trade directly with designated third parties (each, a “Bitcoin Trading Counterparty”), who are not registered broker-dealers pursuant to written agreements between each such Bitcoin Trading Counterparty and the Trust, or choosing to trade through the Prime Execution Agent acting in an agency capacity with third parties through its Coinbase Prime service pursuant to the Prime Execution Agent Agreement. Bitcoin Trading Counterparties settle trades with the Trust using their own accounts at the Prime Execution Agent when trading with the Trust.

For a creation of a Basket of Shares, the Authorized Participant will be required to submit the creation order by an early order cutoff (“Creation Early Cutoff Time”). The Creation Early Cutoff Time will initially be 6:00 p.m. ET on the business day prior to trade date.

On the date of the Creation Early Cutoff Time for a creation order, the Trust will choose, in its sole discretion, to enter into a transaction with a Bitcoin Trading Counterparty or the Prime Execution Agent to buy bitcoin in exchange for the cash proceeds from such creation order. On settlement date for a creation, the Trust delivers Shares to the Authorized Participant in exchange for cash received from the Authorized Participant. Also, on or around the settlement date, the Bitcoin Trading Counterparty or Prime Execution Agent, as applicable, deposits the required bitcoin pursuant to its trade with the Trust into the Trust's Trading Account in exchange for cash. In the event the Trust has not been able to successfully execute and complete settlement of a bitcoin transaction by the settlement date of the creation order, the Authorized Participant will be given the option to (1) cancel the creation order, or (2) accept that the Trust will continue to attempt to complete the execution, which will delay the settlement date of the creation order. With respect to a creation order, as between the Trust and the Authorized Participant, the Authorized Participant is responsible for the dollar cost of the difference between the bitcoin price utilized in calculating NAV per Share on trade date and the price at which the Trust acquires the bitcoin to the extent the price realized in buying the bitcoin is higher than the bitcoin price utilized in the NAV. To the extent the price realized in buying the bitcoin is lower than the price utilized in the NAV, the Authorized Participant shall get to keep the dollar impact of any such difference.

Because the Trust's Trading Account may not be funded with cash on trade date for the purchase of bitcoin associated with a cash creation order, the Trust may borrow trade credits (“Trade Credits”) in the form of cash from Coinbase Credit, Inc. (the “Trade Credit Lender”), an affiliate of the Prime Execution Agent, under the trade financing agreement (“Trade Financing Agreement”) or may require the Authorized Participant to deliver the required cash for the creation order on trade date. The extension of Trade Credits on trade date allows the Trust to purchase bitcoin through the Prime Execution Agent on trade date, with such bitcoin being deposited in the Trust's Trading Account. On settlement date for a creation order, the Trust delivers Shares to the Authorized Participant in exchange for cash received from the Authorized Participant. To the extent Trade Credits were utilized, the Trust uses the cash to repay the Trade Credits borrowed from the Trade Credit Lender. On settlement date for a creation order, the bitcoin purchased is swept from the Trust's Trading Account to the Trust's Custody Account pursuant to a regular end-of-day sweep process.

For a redemption of a Basket of Shares, the Authorized Participant will be required to submit a redemption order by an early order cutoff (the “Redemption Early Cutoff Time”). The Redemption Early Cutoff Time will initially be 6:00 p.m. ET on the business day prior to trade date. On the date of the Redemption Early Cutoff Time for a redemption order, the Trust may choose, in its sole discretion, to enter into a transaction with a Bitcoin Trading Counterparty or the Prime Execution Agent, to sell bitcoin in exchange for cash. After the Redemption Early Cutoff Time, the Trust instructs the Bitcoin Custodian to prepare to move the associated bitcoin from the Trust's Custody Account to the Trust's Trading Account. On settlement date for a redemption order, the Authorized Participant delivers the necessary Shares to the Trust, and on or around settlement date, a Bitcoin Trading Counterparty or Prime Execution Agent, as applicable, delivers the cash associated with the Trust's sale of bitcoin to the Trust in exchange for the Trust's bitcoin, and the Trust delivers cash to the Authorized Participant. In the event the Trust has not been able to successfully execute and complete settlement of a bitcoin transaction by the settlement date, the Authorized Participant will be given the option to (1) cancel the redemption order, or (2) accept that the Trust will continue to attempt to complete the execution, which will delay the settlement date. With respect to a redemption order, between the Trust and the Authorized Participant, the Authorized Participant will be responsible for the dollar cost of the difference between the bitcoin price utilized in calculating the NAV per Share on trade date and the price realized in selling the bitcoin to raise the cash needed for the cash redemption order to the extent the price realized in selling the bitcoin is lower than the bitcoin price utilized in the NAV. To the extent the price realized in selling the bitcoin is higher than the price utilized in the NAV, the Authorized Participant will get to keep the dollar impact of any such difference.

The Trust may use financing in connection with a redemption order when bitcoin remains in the Trust's Custody Account at the point of intended execution of a sale of bitcoin. In those circumstances, the Trust may borrow Trade Credits in the form of bitcoin from the Trade Credit Lender, which allows the Trust to sell bitcoin through the Prime Execution Agent on trade date, and the cash proceeds are deposited in the Trust's Trading Account. On settlement date for a redemption order, the Trust delivers cash to the Authorized Participant in exchange for Shares received from the Authorized Participant. In the event financing was used, the Trust will use the bitcoin moved from the Trust's Custody Account to the Trading Account to repay the Trade Credits borrowed from the Trade Credit Lender.

Net Asset Value

The net asset value (“NAV”) of the Trust is used by the Trust in its day-to-day operations to measure the net value of the Trust's assets. The NAV of the Trust will be equal to the total assets of the Trust, which will consist of bitcoin and cash, less total liabilities of the Trust, each determined by the Trustee pursuant to policies established from time to time by the Trustee or its affiliates as described herein. The Sponsor has the exclusive authority to determine the Trust's NAV, which it has delegated to the Trustee under the Trust Agreement. The Trustee has delegated to the Trust Administrator the responsibility to calculate the NAV and the NAV per Share for the Trust, based on a pricing source selected by the Trustee. In determining the Trust's NAV per Share, the Trust Administrator will value the bitcoin held by the Trust based on the index price, unless the Sponsor in its sole discretion determines that the index is unreliable. The CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate—New York Variant for the Bitcoin—U.S. Dollar trading pair (the “CF Benchmarks Index”) shall constitute the index (the “Index”), unless the CF Benchmarks Index is not available or the Sponsor in its sole discretion determines that the CF Benchmarks Index is unreliable and therefore determines not to use the CF Benchmarks Index as the Index. If the CF Benchmarks Index is not available or the Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, that the CF Benchmarks Index is unreliable, (together a “Fair Value Event”) the Trust's holdings may be fair valued on a temporary basis in accordance with the fair value policies approved by the Trustee. If the CF Benchmarks Index is not used as the Index price, owners of the beneficial interests of Shares (the “Shareholders”) will be notified in a prospectus supplement or on the Trust's website and, if this index change is on a permanent basis, a filing with the SEC under Rule 19b–4 of the Act will be required.

A Fair Value Event value determination will be based upon all available factors that the Sponsor or Trustee deems relevant at the time of the determination, and may be based on analytical values determined by the Sponsor or Trustee using third-party valuation models.

Fair value policies approved by the Trustee will seek to determine the fair value price that the Trust might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that asset or liability in an arm's-length transaction on the date on which the asset or liability is being valued consistent with “Relevant Transactions”. In the instance of a Fair Value Event and pursuant the Sponsor's fair valuation policies and procedures Volume Weighted Average Prices (“VWAP”) or Volume Weighted Median Prices (“VWMP”) from another index administrator (“Secondary Index”) would be utilized. If a Secondary Index is not available or the Sponsor in its sole discretion determines the Secondary Index is unreliable the price set by the Trust's principal market as of 4:00 p.m. ET, on the valuation date would be utilized.

In the event the principal market price is not available or the Sponsor in its sole discretion determines the principal market valuation is unreliable the Sponsor will use its best judgment to determine a good faith estimate of fair value. The Trustee identifies and determines the Trust's principal market (or in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market) for bitcoin consistent with the application of fair value measurement framework in FASB ASC 820–10. The principal market is the market where the reporting entity would normally enter into a transaction to sell the asset or transfer the liability. The principal market must be available to and be accessible by the reporting entity. The reporting entity is the Trust.

Net Asset Value Calculation and Index

On each Business Day (as defined below), as soon as practicable after 4:00 p.m. ET, the Trust Administrator evaluates the bitcoin held by the Trust as reflected by the CF Benchmarks Index and determines NAV per Share. For purposes of making these calculations, a Business Day means any day other than a day when Nasdaq is closed for regular trading (“Business Day”).

The CF Benchmarks Index employed by the Trust is calculated on each Business Day by aggregating the notional value of bitcoin trading activity across major bitcoin spot platforms. The CF Benchmarks Index is designed based on the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks. The administrator of the CF Benchmarks Index is CF Benchmarks Ltd. (the “Index Administrator”). The CF Benchmarks Index serves as a once-a-day benchmark rate of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin (USD/BTC), calculated as of 4:00 p.m. ET. The CF Benchmarks Index aggregates the trade flow of several bitcoin platforms, during an observation window between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET into the U.S. dollar price of one bitcoin at 4:00 p.m. ET. Specifically, the CF Benchmarks Index is calculated based on the Relevant Transactions of all of its constituent bitcoin platforms, which are currently Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit, Kraken, Gemini, and LMAX (the “Constituent Platforms”), and which may change from time to time.

If the CF Benchmarks Index is not available or the Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, that the CF Benchmarks Index is unreliable and so should not be used, the Trust's holdings may be fair valued in accordance with the policy approved by the Trustee.

The Trust is intended to provide a way for Shareholders to obtain exposure to bitcoin by investing in the Shares rather than by acquiring, holding and trading bitcoin directly on a peer-to-peer or other basis or via a digital asset platform. An investment in Shares of the Trust is not the same as an investment directly in bitcoin on a peer-to-peer or other basis or via a digital asset platform.

Intraday Indicative Value

In order to provide updated information relating to the Trust for use by Shareholders, the Trust intends to publish an intraday indicative value per Share (“IIV”) using the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index (“BRTI”). One or more major market data vendors will provide an IIV updated every 15 seconds, as calculated by the Exchange or a third-party financial data provider during the Exchange's regular market session of 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET (the “Regular Market Session”). The IIV will be calculated by using the prior day's closing NAV per Share as a base and updating that value during the Exchange's Regular Market Session to reflect changes in the value of the Trust's NAV per Share during the trading day.

The IIV is disseminated during the Exchange's Regular Market Session should not be viewed as an actual real time update of the NAV per Share, which will be calculated only once at the end of each trading day. The IIV will be widely disseminated on a per Share basis every 15 seconds during the Exchange's Regular Market Session by one or more major market data vendors. In addition, the IIV will be available through online information services. All aspects of the Index Methodology are publicly available at the website of Index Provider, CF Benchmarks ( https://www.cfbenchmarks.com ).

Creation and Redemption of Shares

The Trust issues and redeems Baskets on a continuous basis. Baskets are only issued or redeemed in exchange for an amount of cash determined by the Trustee on each day that Nasdaq is open for regular trading. No Shares are issued unless the Cash Custodian has allocated to the Trust's account the corresponding amount of cash. The amount of cash necessary for the creation of a Basket, or to be received upon redemption of a Basket, will decrease over the life of the Trust, due to the payment or accrual of fees and other expenses or liabilities payable by the Trust. Baskets may be created or redeemed only by Authorized Participants, who pay BlackRock Investments, LLC (“BRIL”), an affiliate of the Trustee and a wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., that has been retained by the Trust to perform certain order processing, Authorized Participant communications, and related services in connection with the issuance and redemption of Baskets, a transaction fee for each order to create or redeem Baskets.

The Sponsor will maintain ownership and control of the bitcoin in a manner consistent with good delivery requirements for spot commodity transactions.

Overview of the Bitcoin Industry

Bitcoin is a digital asset that is created and transmitted through the operations of the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network, a decentralized network of computers that operates on cryptographic protocols (the “Bitcoin network”). No single entity owns or operates the Bitcoin network, the infrastructure of which is collectively maintained by its user base. The Bitcoin network allows people to exchange tokens of value, called bitcoin, which are recorded on a public transaction ledger known as the Bitcoin blockchain (the “Bitcoin blockchain”). Bitcoin can be used to pay for goods and services, or it can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, at rates determined on bitcoin platforms that enable trading in bitcoin or in individual end-user-to-end-user transactions under a barter system.

The Bitcoin network is commonly understood to be decentralized and does not require governmental authorities or financial institution intermediaries to create, transmit or determine the value of bitcoin. Rather, bitcoin is created and allocated by the Bitcoin network protocol through a “mining” process. The value of bitcoin is determined by the supply of and demand for bitcoin-on-bitcoin platforms or in private end-user-to-end-user transactions.

New bitcoins are created and rewarded to the miners of a block in the Bitcoin blockchain for verifying transactions. The Bitcoin blockchain is a shared database that includes all blocks that have been solved by miners and it is updated to include new blocks as they are solved. Each bitcoin transaction is broadcast to the Bitcoin network and, when included in a block, recorded in the Bitcoin blockchain. As each new block records outstanding bitcoin transactions, and outstanding transactions are settled and validated through such recording, the Bitcoin blockchain represents a complete, transparent and unbroken history of all transactions of the Bitcoin network.

History of Bitcoin

The Bitcoin network was initially contemplated in a whitepaper that also described bitcoin and the operating software to govern the Bitcoin network. The whitepaper was purportedly authored by Satoshi Nakamoto. However, no individual with that name has been reliably identified as bitcoin's creator, and the general consensus is that the name is likely a pseudonym for the actual inventor or inventors. The first bitcoins were created in 2009 after Nakamoto released the Bitcoin network source code (the software and protocol that created and launched the Bitcoin network). The Bitcoin network has been under active development since that time by a loose group of software developers who have come to be known as core developers.

Overview of Bitcoin Network Operations

In order to own, transfer or use bitcoin directly on the Bitcoin network (as opposed to through an intermediary, such as an exchange), a person generally must have internet access to connect to the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions may be made directly between end-users without the need for a third-party intermediary. To prevent the possibility of double-spending bitcoin, a user must notify the Bitcoin network of the transaction by broadcasting the transaction data to its network peers. The Bitcoin network provides confirmation against double-spending by memorializing every transaction in the Bitcoin blockchain, which is publicly accessible and transparent. This memorialization and verification against double-spending is accomplished through the Bitcoin network mining process, which adds “blocks” of data, including recent transaction information, to the Bitcoin blockchain.

Overview of Bitcoin Transfers

Prior to engaging in bitcoin transactions directly on the Bitcoin network, a user generally must first install on its computer or mobile device a Bitcoin network software program that will allow the user to generate a private and public key pair associated with a bitcoin address commonly referred to as a “wallet.” The Bitcoin network software program and the bitcoin address also enable the user to connect to the Bitcoin network and transfer bitcoin to, and receive bitcoin from, other users.

Each Bitcoin network address, or wallet, is associated with a unique “public key” and “private key” pair. To receive bitcoin, the bitcoin recipient must provide its public key to the party initiating the transfer. This activity is analogous to a recipient for a transaction in U.S. dollars providing a routing address in wire instructions to the payor so that cash may be wired to the recipient's account. The payor approves the transfer to the address provided by the recipient by “signing” a transaction that consists of the recipient's public key with the private key of the address from where the payor is transferring the bitcoin. The recipient, however, does not make public or provide to the sender its related private key.

Neither the recipient nor the sender reveals their private keys in a transaction because the private key authorizes transfer of the funds in that address to other users. Therefore, if a user loses his or her private key, the user may permanently lose access to the bitcoin contained in the associated address. Likewise, bitcoin is irretrievably lost if the private key associated with them is deleted and no backup has been made. When sending bitcoin, a user's Bitcoin network software program must validate the transaction with the associated private key. The resulting digitally validated transaction is sent by the user's Bitcoin network software program to the Bitcoin network to allow transaction confirmation.

Some bitcoin transactions are conducted “off-blockchain” and are therefore not recorded in the Bitcoin blockchain. Some “off-blockchain transactions” involve the transfer of control over, or ownership of, a specific digital wallet holding bitcoin or the reallocation of ownership of certain bitcoin in a digital wallet containing assets owned by multiple persons, such as a digital wallet maintained by a digital assets platform. In contrast to on-blockchain transactions, which are publicly recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain, information and data regarding off-blockchain transactions are generally not publicly available. Therefore, off-blockchain transactions are not truly bitcoin transactions in that they do not involve the transfer of transaction data on the Bitcoin network and do not reflect a movement of bitcoin between addresses recorded in the Bitcoin blockchain. For these reasons, off-blockchain transactions are subject to risks as any such transfer of bitcoin ownership is not protected by the protocol behind the Bitcoin network or recorded in, and validated through, the blockchain mechanism.

Summary of a Bitcoin Transaction

In a bitcoin transaction directly on the Bitcoin network between two parties (as opposed to through an intermediary, such as a custodian), the following circumstances must initially be in place: (i) the party seeking to send bitcoin must have a Bitcoin network public key, and the Bitcoin network must recognize that public key as having sufficient bitcoin for the transaction; (ii) the receiving party must have a Bitcoin network public key; and (iii) the spending party must have internet access with which to send its spending transaction.

The receiving party must provide the spending party with its public key and allow the Bitcoin blockchain to record the sending of bitcoin to that public key. After the provision of a recipient's Bitcoin network public key, the spending party must enter the address into its Bitcoin network software program along with the number of bitcoin to be sent. The number of bitcoin to be sent will typically be agreed upon between the two parties based on a set number of bitcoin or an agreed upon conversion of the value of fiat currency to bitcoin. Since every computation on the Bitcoin network requires the payment of bitcoin, including verification and memorialization of bitcoin transfers, there is a transaction fee involved with the transfer, which is based on computation complexity and not on the value of the transfer and is paid by the payor with a fractional number of bitcoin.

After the entry of the Bitcoin network address, the number of bitcoin to be sent and the transaction fees, if any, to be paid, will be transmitted by the spending party. The transmission of the spending transaction results in the creation of a data packet by the spending party's Bitcoin network software program, which is transmitted onto the decentralized Bitcoin network, resulting in the distribution of the information among the software programs of users across the Bitcoin network for eventual inclusion in the Bitcoin blockchain.

As discussed in greater detail below, Bitcoin network miners record transactions when they solve for and add blocks of information to the Bitcoin blockchain. When a miner solves for a block, it creates that block, which includes data relating to (i) the solution to the block, (ii) a reference to the prior block in the Bitcoin blockchain to which the new block is being added and (iii) transactions that have occurred but have not yet been added to the Bitcoin blockchain. The miner becomes aware of outstanding, unrecorded transactions through the data packet transmission and distribution discussed above.

Upon the addition of a block included in the Bitcoin blockchain, the Bitcoin network software program of both the spending party and the receiving party will show confirmation of the transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain and reflect an adjustment to the bitcoin balance in each party's Bitcoin network public key, completing the bitcoin transaction. Once a transaction is confirmed on the Bitcoin blockchain, it is irreversible.

Creation of a New Bitcoin

New bitcoins are created through the mining process. The process by which bitcoin is “mined” results in new blocks being added to the Bitcoin blockchain and new bitcoin tokens being issued to the miners. Computers on the Bitcoin network engage in a set of prescribed complex mathematical calculations in order to add a block to the Bitcoin blockchain and thereby confirm bitcoin transactions included in that block's data. The Bitcoin network is designed in such a way that the reward for adding new blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain decreases over time. In the future, once new bitcoin tokens are no longer awarded for adding a new block, miners will only have transaction fees to incentivize them, and as a result, it is expected that miners will need to be better compensated with higher transaction fees to ensure that there is adequate incentive for them to continue mining.

Limits on Bitcoin Supply

Under the source code that governs the Bitcoin network, the supply of new bitcoin is mathematically controlled so that the number of bitcoin grows at a limited rate pursuant to a pre-set schedule. The number of bitcoin awarded for solving a new block is automatically halved after every 210,000 blocks are added to the Bitcoin blockchain, approximately every 4 years. Currently, the fixed reward for solving a new block is 6.25 bitcoin per block and this is expected to decrease by half to become 3.125 bitcoin in approximately early 2024. This deliberately controlled rate of bitcoin creation means that the number of bitcoin in existence will increase at a controlled rate until the number of bitcoin in existence reaches the pre-determined 21 million bitcoin. However, the 21 million supply cap could be changed in a hard fork. A hard fork could change the source code to the Bitcoin network, including the 21 million bitcoin supply cap.

Background

The Commission has historically approved or disapproved exchange filings to list and trade series of Trust Issued Receipts, including spot based Commodity-Based Trust Shares, on the basis of whether the listing exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to the underlying commodity to be held. Prior orders from the Commission have pointed out that in every prior approval order for Commodity-Based Trust Shares, there has been a derivatives market that represents the regulated market of significant size, generally a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulated futures market. Further to this point, the Commission's prior orders have noted that the spot commodities and currency markets for which it has previously approved spot exchange traded products (“ETPs”) are generally unregulated and that the Commission relied on the underlying futures market as the regulated market of significant size that formed the basis for approving the series of currency and Commodity-Based Trust Shares, including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, and other commodities and currencies. The Commission specifically noted in the Winklevoss Order that the First Gold Approval Order “was based on an assumption that the currency market and the spot gold market were largely unregulated.”

As such, the regulated market of significant size test does not require that the spot bitcoin market be regulated in order for the Commission to approve this proposal, and precedent makes clear that an underlying market for a spot commodity or currency being a regulated market would actually be an exception to the norm. These largely unregulated currency and commodity markets do not provide the same protections as the markets that are subject to the Commission's oversight, but the Commission has consistently looked to surveillance sharing agreements with the underlying futures market in order to determine whether such products were consistent with the Act. With this in mind, the CME bitcoin futures (“Bitcoin Futures”) market, as described below, is the proper market to consider in determining whether there is a related regulated market of significant size.

Further to this point, the Exchange notes that the Commission has recently approved proposals related to the listing and trading of funds that would primarily hold Bitcoin Futures that are registered under the Securities Act of 1933 instead of the 1940 Act. In the Teucrium Approval, the Commission found the Bitcoin Futures market to be a regulated market of significant size as it relates to Bitcoin Futures, an odd tautological truth that is also inconsistent with prior disapproval orders for ETPs that would hold actual bitcoin instead of derivatives contracts (“Spot Bitcoin ETPs”) that use the exact same pricing methodology as the Bitcoin Futures. As further discussed below, both the Exchange and the Sponsor believe that this proposal and the included analysis are sufficient to establish that the Bitcoin Futures market represents a regulated market of significant size as it relates both to the Bitcoin Futures market and to the spot bitcoin market and that this proposal should be approved.

Bitcoin Futures ETFs

The Exchange and Sponsor applaud the Commission for allowing the launch of exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) registered under the 1940 Act and the recent Bitcoin Futures Approvals that provide exposure to bitcoin primarily through Bitcoin Futures (“Bitcoin Futures ETFs”). Allowing such products to list and trade is a productive first step in providing U.S. investors and traders with transparent, exchange listed tools for expressing a view on bitcoin. The Bitcoin Futures Approvals, however, have created a logical inconsistency in the application of the standard the Commission applies when considering bitcoin ETP proposals.

As discussed further below, the standard applicable to bitcoin ETPs is whether the listing exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size in the underlying asset. Previous disapproval orders have made clear that a market that constitutes a regulated market of significant size is generally a futures and/or options market based on the underlying reference asset rather than the spot commodity markets, which are often unregulated. Leaving aside the analysis of that standard until later in this proposal, the Exchange believes that the below rationale that the Commission applied to a Bitcoin Futures ETF should result in the Commission approving this and other Spot Bitcoin ETP proposals:

The CME “comprehensively surveils futures market conditions and price movements on a real time and ongoing basis in order to detect and prevent price distortions, including price distortions caused by manipulative efforts.” Thus, the CME's surveillance can reasonably be relied upon to capture the effects on the Bitcoin Futures market caused by a person attempting to manipulate the proposed futures ETP by manipulating the price of Bitcoin Futures contracts, whether that attempt is made by directly trading on the Bitcoin Futures market or indirectly by trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market. As such, when the CME shares its surveillance information with Arca, the information would assist in detecting and deterring fraudulent or manipulative misconduct related to the non cash assets held by the proposed ETP.

Bitcoin Futures pricing is based on pricing from spot bitcoin markets. The statement from the Teucrium Approval that “CME's surveillance can reasonably be relied upon to capture the effects on the Bitcoin Futures market caused by a person attempting to manipulate the proposed futures ETP by manipulating the price of Bitcoin Futures contracts . . . indirectly by trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market,” makes clear that the Commission believes that CME's surveillance can capture the effects of trading on the relevant spot markets on the pricing of Bitcoin Futures. If CME is able to detect such attempts at manipulation in the complex and interconnected spot bitcoin market, how would such an ability to detect attempted manipulation and the utility in sharing that information with the listing exchange apply only to Bitcoin Futures ETFs and not Spot Bitcoin ETPs? Stated a different way, given that there is significant trading volume on numerous bitcoin platforms that are not part of the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate and that arbitrage opportunities across bitcoin platforms means that such trading volume will influence spot bitcoin prices across the market and, despite this, the Commission still believes that CME can detect attempted manipulation of the Bitcoin Futures through “trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market,” it is clear that such ability would apply equally to both Bitcoin Futures ETFs and Spot Bitcoin ETPs. To take it a step further, such an ability would also seem to be a strong indication that the Bitcoin Futures market represents a regulated market of significant size. To be clear, the Exchange agrees with the Commission on this point (and the implications of their conclusions) and notes that the pricing mechanism applicable to the Shares is similar to the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, as further discussed below.

In addition, the structure of Bitcoin Futures ETFs provides negative outcomes for buy and hold investors as compared to a Spot Bitcoin ETP. Specifically, the cost of rolling Bitcoin Futures contracts will cause the Bitcoin Futures ETFs to typically lag the performance of bitcoin itself and, at over a billion dollars in assets under management, would cost U.S. investors significant amounts of money on an annual basis compared to Spot Bitcoin ETPs. Such rolling costs would not be required for Spot Bitcoin ETPs that hold bitcoin. While Bitcoin Futures ETFs represent a useful trading tool, they are clearly a sub-optimal structure for U.S. investors that are looking for long-term exposure to bitcoin that will, based on the calculations above, unnecessarily cost U.S. investors significant amounts of money every year compared to Spot Bitcoin ETPs and the Exchange believes that any proposal to list and trade a Spot Bitcoin ETP should be reviewed by the Commission with this important investor protection context in mind.

Based on the foregoing, the Exchange and Sponsor believe that any objective review of the proposals to list Spot Bitcoin ETPs compared to the Bitcoin Futures ETFs and the Bitcoin Futures Approvals would lead to the conclusion that Spot Bitcoin ETPs should be available to U.S. investors and, as such, this proposal and other comparable proposals to list and trade Spot Bitcoin ETPs should be approved by the Commission. Stated simply, U.S. investors will continue to lose significant amounts of money from holding Bitcoin Futures ETFs as compared to Spot Bitcoin ETPs, losses which could be prevented by the Commission approving Spot Bitcoin ETPs. Additionally, any concerns related to preventing fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices related to Spot Bitcoin ETPs would apply equally to the spot markets underlying the futures contracts held by a Bitcoin Futures ETF. While the 1940 Act does offer certain investor protections, those protections do not relate to mitigating potential manipulation of the holdings of an ETF in a way that warrants distinction between Bitcoin Futures ETFs and Spot Bitcoin ETPs and the SEC has granted approval for a Bitcoin Futures ETP that is not regulated by the 1940 Act. To be clear, both the Exchange and Sponsor believe that the Bitcoin Futures market is a regulated market of significant size and that such manipulation concerns are mitigated as described throughout this proposal. After issuing the Bitcoin Futures Approvals which conclude the Bitcoin Futures market is a regulated market of significant size as it relates to Bitcoin Futures, the only consistent outcome would be approving Spot Bitcoin ETPs on the basis that the Bitcoin Futures market is also a regulated market of significant size as it relates to the bitcoin spot market. Including in the analysis the significant and preventable losses to U.S. investors that comes with Bitcoin Futures ETFs, disapproving Spot Bitcoin ETPs seems even more arbitrary and capricious. Given the current landscape, approving this proposal (and others like it) and allowing Spot Bitcoin ETPs to be listed and traded alongside Bitcoin Futures ETFs would establish a consistent regulatory approach, provide U.S. investors with choice in product structures for bitcoin exposure, and offer flexibility in the means of gaining exposure to bitcoin through transparent, regulated, U.S. exchange listed vehicles.

Spot and Proxy Exposure to Bitcoin

Exposure to bitcoin through an ETP also presents certain advantages for retail investors compared to buying spot bitcoin directly. The most notable advantage from the Sponsor's perspective is the elimination of the need for an individual retail investor to either manage their own private keys or to hold bitcoin through a cryptocurrency platform that lacks sufficient protections. Typically, retail platforms hold most, if not all, retail investors' bitcoin in “hot” (internet connected) storage and do not make any commitments to indemnify retail investors or to observe any particular cybersecurity standard. Meanwhile, a retail investor holding spot bitcoin directly in a self-hosted wallet may suffer from inexperience in private key management ( e.g., insufficient password protection, lost key, etc.), which point of failure could cause them to lose some or all of their bitcoin holdings. Thus, with respect to custody of the Trust's bitcoin assets, the Trust presents advantages from an investment protection standpoint for retail investors compared to owning spot bitcoin directly or via a digital asset platform.

Finally, some publicly traded companies with mostly unrelated businesses—such as Tesla (a car manufacturer) and MicroStrategy (an enterprise software company)—have announced significant investments in bitcoin. Without access to bitcoin exchange traded products, retail investors seeking investment exposure to bitcoin may end up purchasing shares in these companies in order to gain the exposure to bitcoin that they seek. In fact, mainstream financial news networks have written a number of articles providing investors with guidance for obtaining bitcoin exposure through publicly traded companies (such as MicroStrategy, Tesla, and bitcoin mining companies, among others) instead of dealing with the complications associated with buying spot bitcoin in the absence of a bitcoin ETP. Such public companies, however, are imperfect bitcoin proxies and provide investors with partial bitcoin exposure paired with a host of additional risks associated with whichever operating company they decide to purchase. Additionally, the disclosures provided by the aforementioned public companies with respect to risks relating to their bitcoin holdings are generally substantially smaller than the registration statement of a bitcoin ETP, including the Registration Statement, typically amounting to a few sentences of narrative description and a handful of risk factors. In other words, investors seeking bitcoin exposure through publicly traded companies are gaining only partial exposure to bitcoin and are not fully benefitting from the risk disclosures and associated investor protections that come from the securities registration process.

Bitcoin Futures

CME began offering trading in Bitcoin Futures in 2017. Each contract represents five bitcoin and is based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate. The contracts trade and settle like other cash settled commodity futures contracts. Nearly every measurable metric related to Bitcoin Futures has generally trended up since launch, although certain notional volume calculations have decreased roughly in line with the decrease in the price of bitcoin. For example, there were 143,215 Bitcoin Futures contracts traded in April 2023 (approximately $20.7 billion) compared to 193,182 ($5 billion), 104,713 ($3.9 billion), 118,714 ($42.7 billion), and 111,964 ($23.2 billion) contracts traded in April 2019, April 2020, April 2021, and April 2022, respectively.

The number of large open interest holders and unique accounts trading Bitcoin Futures have both increased, even in the face of heightened bitcoin price volatility.

Preventing Fraudulent and Manipulative Practices

In order for any proposed rule change from an exchange to be approved, the Commission must determine that, among other things, the proposal is consistent with the requirements of section 6(b)(5) of the Act, specifically including: (i) the requirement that a national securities exchange's rules are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices; and (ii) the requirement that an exchange proposal be designed, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. The Exchange believes that this proposal is consistent with the requirements of section 6(b)(5) of the Act and that this filing sufficiently demonstrates that the Bitcoin Futures market represents a regulated market of significant size and that, on the whole, the manipulation concerns previously articulated by the Commission are sufficiently mitigated to the point that they are outweighed by quantifiable investor protection issues that would be resolved by approving this proposal.

(i) Designed To Prevent Fraudulent and Manipulative Acts and Practices

In order to meet this standard in a proposal to list and trade a series of Commodity-Based Trust Shares, the Commission requires that an exchange demonstrate that there is a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement in place with a regulated market of significant size. Both the Exchange and CME are members of ISG. The only remaining issue to be addressed is whether the Bitcoin Futures market constitutes a market of significant size, which both the Exchange and the Sponsor believe that it does. The terms “significant market” and “market of significant size” include a market (or group of markets) as to which: (a) there is a reasonable likelihood that a person attempting to manipulate the ETP would also have to trade on that market to manipulate the ETP, so that a surveillance sharing agreement would assist the listing exchange in detecting and deterring misconduct; and (b) it is unlikely that trading in the ETP would be the predominant influence on prices in that market.

The Commission has also recognized that the “regulated market of significant size” standard is not the only means for satisfying section 6(b)(5) of the act, specifically providing that a listing exchange could demonstrate that “other means to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” are sufficient to justify dispensing with the requisite surveillance sharing agreement.

(A) Reasonable Likelihood That a Person Attempting To Manipulate the ETP Would Also Have To Trade on That Market To Manipulate the ETP

Bitcoin Futures represent a growing influence on pricing in the spot bitcoin market as has been laid out above and in other proposals to list and trade Spot Bitcoin ETPs. Pricing in Bitcoin Futures is based on pricing from spot bitcoin markets. As noted above, the statement from the Teucrium Approval that “CME's surveillance can reasonably be relied upon to capture the effects on the Bitcoin Futures market caused by a person attempting to manipulate the proposed futures ETP by manipulating the price of Bitcoin Futures contracts . . . indirectly by trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market,” makes clear that the Commission believes that CME's surveillance can capture the effects of trading on the relevant spot markets on the pricing of Bitcoin Futures. While the Commission makes clear in the Teucrium Approval that the analysis only applies to the Bitcoin Futures market as it relates to an ETP that invests in Bitcoin Futures as its only non-cash or cash equivalent holding, if CME's surveillance is sufficient to mitigate concerns related to trading in Bitcoin Futures for which the pricing is based directly on pricing from spot bitcoin markets, it's not clear how such a conclusion could apply only to ETPs based on Bitcoin Futures and not extend to Spot Bitcoin ETPs.

As such, the Exchange believes that part (a) of the significant market test outlined above is satisfied and that common membership in ISG between the Exchange and CME would assist the listing exchange in detecting and deterring misconduct in the Shares.

(B) Predominant Influence on Prices in Spot and Bitcoin Futures

The Exchange and Sponsor also believe that trading in the Shares would not be the predominant force on prices in the Bitcoin Futures market or spot market for a number of reasons, including the significant volume in the Bitcoin Futures market, the size of bitcoin's market cap, and the significant liquidity available in the spot market. In addition to the Bitcoin Futures market data points cited above, the spot market for bitcoin is also very liquid. According to data from Kaiko, the average daily adjusted volume for spot bitcoin across USD denominated trading pairs from January 1, 2023, to May 31, 2023, was $6.0 billion. According to data from Kaiko, the aggregate 2% bitcoin market depth on the bid and ask side for USD denominated trading pairs has been on average 6,875 BTC (approximately $167.2 million), for the period between January 1, 2023, and May 31, 2023. More strategic purchases or sales (such as using limit orders and executing through OTC bitcoin trade desks) would likely have less obvious impact on the market—which is consistent with MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Square being able to collectively purchase billions of dollars in bitcoin.

As such, the combination of the Bitcoin Futures price discovery and the overall size of the bitcoin market will help prevent the Shares from becoming the predominant force on pricing in either the bitcoin spot or Bitcoin Futures markets, satisfying part (b) of the test outlined above.

(C) Other Means To Prevent Fraudulent and Manipulative Acts and Practices

The Exchange is also proposing to take additional steps to those described above to supplement its ability to obtain information that would be helpful in detecting, investigating, and deterring fraud and market manipulation in the Commodity-Based Trust Shares.

As noted in the Surveillance section, the surveillance program includes real-time patterns for price and volume movements and post-trade surveillance patterns ( e.g., spoofing, marking the close, pinging, phishing). In addition to the Exchange's existing surveillance, a new pattern will be added to surveil for significant deviation in the Commodity-Based Trust Shares' price from the underlying asset's price. The Exchange will use the trade data from an external vendor that consolidates the real-time data from multiple bitcoin platforms.

Trading of Shares on the Exchange will be subject to the Exchange's surveillance program for derivative products, as well as cross-market surveillances administered by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), on behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement, which are also designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory services agreement.

The Exchange will require the Trust to represent to the Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by the Trust to comply with the continued listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under section 19(g)(1) of the Exchange Act, the Exchange will surveil for compliance with the continued listing requirements. If the Trust is not in compliance with the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures under the Nasdaq 5800 Series. In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.

The Exchange will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other markets and other entities that are members of the ISG, and the Exchange may obtain trading information regarding trading in the Shares from such markets and other entities.

Availability of Information

The website for the Trust, which will be publicly accessible at no charge, will contain the following information: (a) the prior Business Day's NAV per Share; (b) the prior Business Day's Nasdaq official closing price; (c) calculation of the premium or discount of such Nasdaq official closing price against such NAV per Share; (d) data in chart form displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the Nasdaq official closing price against the NAV per Share, within appropriate ranges for each of the four previous calendar quarters (or for the life of the Trust, if shorter); (e) the prospectus; and (f) other applicable quantitative information. The Trust Administrator will also disseminate the Trust's holdings on a daily basis on the Trust's website. The NAV per Share for the Trust will be calculated by the Trust Administrator once a day and will be disseminated daily to all market participants at the same time. Quotation and last sale information regarding the Shares will be disseminated through the facilities of the relevant securities information processor.

Also, an estimated value that reflects an estimated IIV will be disseminated. For more information on the IIV, including the calculation methodology, see “Intraday Indicative Value” above. The IIV disseminated during the Exchange's Regular Market Session should not be viewed as an actual real time update of the NAV per Share, which will be calculated only once at the end of each trading day. The IIV will be widely disseminated on a per Share basis every 15 seconds during the Exchange's Regular Market Session by one or more major market data vendors. In addition, the IIV will be available through online information services.

Quotation and last sale information for bitcoin is widely disseminated through a variety of major market data vendors, including Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as CF Benchmarks. Information relating to trading, including price and volume information, in bitcoin is available from major market data vendors and from the platforms on which bitcoin are traded. Depth of book information is also available from bitcoin platforms. The normal trading hours for bitcoin platforms are 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Information regarding market price and trading volume of the Shares will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic services. Information regarding the previous day's closing price and trading volume information for the Shares will be published daily in the financial section of newspapers.

Initial and Continued Listing

The Shares will be subject to Nasdaq Rule 5711(d)(vi), which sets forth the initial and continued listing criteria applicable to Commodity-Based Trust Shares. The Exchange will obtain a representation that the Trust's NAV per Share will be calculated daily and will be made available to all market participants at the same time. A minimum of 80,000 Commodity-Based Trust Shares, or the equivalent of two Baskets, will be required to be outstanding at the time of commencement of trading on the Exchange. Upon termination of the Trust, the Shares will be removed from listing. The Delaware Trustee, will be a trust company having substantial capital and surplus and the experience and facilities for handling corporate trust business, as required under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d)(vi)(D) and no change will be made to the Delaware Trustee without prior notice to and approval of the Exchange.

As required in Nasdaq Rule 5711(d)(viii), the Exchange notes that any registered market maker (“Market Maker”) in the Shares must file with the Exchange, in a manner prescribed by the Exchange, and keep current a list identifying all accounts for trading the underlying commodity, related futures or options on futures, or any other related derivatives, which the registered Market Maker may have or over which it may exercise investment discretion. No registered Market Maker in the Shares shall trade in the underlying commodity, related futures or options on futures, or any other related derivatives, in an account in which a registered Market Maker, directly or indirectly, controls trading activities, or has a direct interest in the profits or losses thereof, which has not been reported to the Exchange as required by Nasdaq Rule 5711(d). In addition to the existing obligations under Exchange rules regarding the production of books and records, the registered Market Maker in the Shares shall make available to the Exchange such books, records or other information pertaining to transactions by such entity or any limited partner, officer or approved person thereof, registered or non-registered employee affiliated with such entity for its or their own accounts in the underlying commodity, related futures or options on futures, or any other related derivatives, as may be requested by the Exchange.

The Exchange is able to obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and the underlying bitcoin, Bitcoin Futures contracts, options on Bitcoin Futures, or any other bitcoin derivative through members acting as registered Market Makers, in connection with their proprietary or customer trades.

As a general matter, the Exchange has regulatory jurisdiction over its members, and their associated persons. The Exchange also has regulatory jurisdiction over any person or entity controlling a member, as well as a subsidiary or affiliate of a member that is in the securities business. A subsidiary or affiliate of a member organization that does business only in commodities would not be subject to Exchange jurisdiction, but the Exchange could obtain information regarding the activities of such subsidiary or affiliate through surveillance sharing agreements with regulatory organizations of which such subsidiary or affiliate is a member.

Trading Rules

The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing rules governing the trading of equity securities. The Exchange will allow trading in the Shares from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares during all trading sessions. The Shares of the Trust will conform to the initial and continued listing criteria set forth in Nasdaq Rule 5711(d).

Trading Halts

With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend trading in the Shares. The Exchange will halt trading in the Shares under the conditions specified in Nasdaq Rules 4120 and 4121, including without limitation the conditions specified in Nasdaq Rule 4120(a)(9) and (10) and the trading pauses under Nasdaq Rules 4120(a)(11) and (12).

Trading may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may include: (1) the extent to which trading is not occurring in the bitcoin underlying the Shares; or (2) whether other unusual conditions or circumstances detrimental to the maintenance of a fair and orderly market are present.

If the IIV or the value of the Index is not being disseminated as required, the Exchange may halt trading during the day in which the interruption to the dissemination of the IIV or the value of the Index occurs. If the interruption to the dissemination of the IIV or the value of the Index persists past the trading day in which it occurred, the Exchange will halt trading no later than the beginning of the trading day following the interruption.

In addition, if the Exchange becomes aware that the NAV per Share with respect to the Shares is not disseminated to all market participants at the same time, it will halt trading in the Shares until such time as the NAV per Share is available to all market participants.

Surveillance

The Exchange believes that its surveillance procedures are adequate to properly monitor the trading of the Shares on the Exchange during all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and the applicable federal securities laws. The surveillance program includes real-time patterns for price and volume movements and post-trade surveillance patterns ( e.g., spoofing, marking the close, pinging, phishing). In addition to the Exchange's existing surveillance, a new pattern will be added to surveil for significant deviation in the Commodity-Based Trust Shares' price from the underlying asset's price. The Exchange will use the trade data from an external vendor that consolidates the real-time data from multiple bitcoin platforms.

Trading of Shares on the Exchange will be subject to the Exchange's surveillance program for derivative products, as well as cross-market surveillances administered by FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement, which are also designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory services agreement.

The Exchange will require the Trust to represent to the Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by the Trust to comply with the continued listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under section 19(g)(1) of the Exchange Act, the Exchange will surveil for compliance with the continued listing requirements. If the Trust is not in compliance with the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures under the Nasdaq 5800 Series. In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.

The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other markets and other entities that are members of the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, may obtain trading information regarding trading in the Shares from such markets and other entities. The Exchange also may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and listed bitcoin derivatives via the ISG, from other exchanges who are members or affiliates of the ISG, or with which the Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.

Information Circular

Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its members in an information circular (“Information Circular”) of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the Information Circular will discuss the following: (1) the procedures for creations and redemptions of Shares in Baskets (and that Shares are not individually redeemable); (2) Section 10 of Nasdaq General Rule 9, which imposes suitability obligations on Nasdaq members with respect to recommending transactions in the Shares to customers; (3) how information regarding the IIV is disseminated; (4) the risks involved in trading the Shares during the pre-market and post-market sessions when an updated IIV will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; (5) the requirement that members deliver a prospectus to investors purchasing newly issued Shares prior to or concurrently with the confirmation of a transaction; and (6) trading information. The Information Circular will also discuss any exemptive, no action and interpretive relief granted by the Commission from any rules under the Act.

The Information Circular will also reference the fact that there is no regulated source of last sale information regarding bitcoin, that the Commission has no jurisdiction over the trading of bitcoin as a commodity, and that the CFTC has regulatory jurisdiction over the trading of Bitcoin Futures contracts and options on Bitcoin Futures contracts.

Additionally, the Information Circular will reference that the Trust is subject to various fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement. The Information Circular will also disclose the trading hours of the Shares. The Information Circular will disclose that information about the Shares will be publicly available on the Trust's website.

2. Statutory Basis

The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with section 6(b) of the Act in general and section 6(b)(5) of the Act in particular in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest.

The Commission has approved numerous series of Trust Issued Receipts, including Commodity-Based Trust Shares, to be listed on U.S. national securities exchanges. In order for any proposed rule change from an exchange to be approved, the Commission must determine that, among other things, the proposal is consistent with the requirements of section 6(b)(5) of the Act, specifically including: (i) the requirement that a national securities exchange's rules are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices; and (ii) the requirement that an exchange proposal be designed, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. The Exchange believes that this proposal is consistent with the requirements of section 6(b)(5) of the Act because this filing sufficiently demonstrates that the standard that has previously been articulated by the Commission applicable to Commodity-Based Trust Shares has been met as outlined below.

Designed To Prevent Fraudulent and Manipulative Acts and Practices

In order for a proposal to list and trade a series of Commodity-Based Trust Shares to be deemed consistent with the Act, the Commission requires that an exchange demonstrate that there is a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement in place with a regulated market of significant size. Both the Exchange and CME are members of ISG. As such, the only remaining issue to be addressed is whether the Bitcoin Futures market constitutes a market of significant size, which the Exchange believes that it does. The terms “significant market” and “market of significant size” include a market (or group of markets) as to which: (a) there is a reasonable likelihood that a person attempting to manipulate the ETP would also have to trade on that market to manipulate the ETP, so that a surveillance-sharing agreement would assist the listing exchange in detecting and deterring misconduct; and (b) it is unlikely that trading in the ETP would be the predominant influence on prices in that market.

The Commission has also recognized that the “regulated market of significant size” standard is not the only means for satisfying section 6(b)(5) of the act, specifically providing that a listing exchange could demonstrate that “other means to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” are sufficient to justify dispensing with the requisite surveillance-sharing agreement.

(A) Reasonable Likelihood That a Person Attempting To Manipulate the ETP Would Also Have To Trade on That Market To Manipulate the ETP

Bitcoin Futures represent a growing influence on pricing in the spot bitcoin market as has been laid out above and in other proposals to list and trade Spot Bitcoin ETPs. Pricing in Bitcoin Futures is based on pricing from spot bitcoin markets. As noted above, the statement from the Teucrium Approval that “CME's surveillance can reasonably be relied upon to capture the effects on the Bitcoin Futures market caused by a person attempting to manipulate the proposed futures ETP by manipulating the price of Bitcoin Futures contracts . . . indirectly by trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market,” makes clear that the Commission believes that CME's surveillance can capture the effects of trading on the relevant spot markets on the pricing of Bitcoin Futures. While the Commission makes clear in the Teucrium Approval that the analysis only applies to the Bitcoin Futures market as it relates to an ETP that invests in Bitcoin Futures as its only non-cash or cash equivalent holding, if CME's surveillance is sufficient to mitigate concerns related to trading in Bitcoin Futures for which the pricing is based directly on pricing from spot bitcoin markets, it's not clear how such a conclusion could apply only to ETPs based on Bitcoin Futures and not extend to Spot Bitcoin ETPs.

As such, the Exchange believes that part (a) of the significant market test outlined above is satisfied and that common membership in ISG between the Exchange and CME would assist the listing exchange in detecting and deterring misconduct in the Shares.

(B) Predominant Influence on Prices in Spot and Bitcoin Futures

The Exchange and Sponsor also believe that trading in the Shares would not be the predominant force on prices in the Bitcoin Futures market or spot market for a number of reasons, including the significant volume in the Bitcoin Futures market, the size of bitcoin's market cap, and the significant liquidity available in the spot market. In addition to the Bitcoin Futures market data points cited above, the spot market for bitcoin is also very liquid. According to data from Messari, the average daily adjusted real volume for spot bitcoin from January 1, 2023, to May 12, 2023 was $8.5 billion. According to data from Kaiko, the aggregate 1% bitcoin market depth on the bid and ask side has been on average 5,373 bitcoin (approximately $161 million), for the period between April 26, 2023 and May 12, 2023. More strategic purchases or sales (such as using limit orders and executing through OTC bitcoin trade desks) would likely have less obvious impact on the market—which is consistent with MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Square being able to collectively purchase billions of dollars in bitcoin.

As such, the combination of the Bitcoin Futures price discovery and the overall size of the bitcoin market will help prevent the Shares from becoming the predominant force on pricing in either the bitcoin spot or Bitcoin Futures markets, satisfying part (b) of the test outlined above.

(C) Other Means To Prevent Fraudulent and Manipulative Acts and Practices

The Exchange is also proposing to take additional steps to those described above to supplement its ability to obtain information that would be helpful in detecting, investigating, and deterring fraud and market manipulation in the Commodity-Based Trust Shares.

As noted in the Surveillance section, the surveillance program includes real-time patterns for price and volume movements and post-trade surveillance patterns ( e.g., spoofing, marking the close, pinging, phishing). In addition to the Exchange's existing surveillance, a new pattern will be added to surveil for significant deviation in the Commodity-Based Trust Shares' price from the underlying asset's price. The Exchange will use the trade data from an external vendor that consolidates the real-time data from multiple bitcoin platforms.

Trading of Shares on the Exchange will be subject to the Exchange's surveillance program for derivative products, as well as cross-market surveillances administered by FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement, which are also designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory services agreement.

The Exchange will require the Trust to represent to the Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by the Trust to comply with the continued listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under section 19(g)(1) of the Exchange Act, the Exchange will surveil for compliance with the continued listing requirements. If the Trust is not in compliance with the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures under the Nasdaq 5800 Series. In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.

The Exchange will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other markets and other entities that are members of the ISG, and the Exchange may obtain trading information regarding trading in the Shares from such markets and other entities.

The Exchange also believes that reviewing this proposal through the lens of the Bitcoin Futures Approvals would also lead the Commission to approving this proposal. Previous disapproval orders have made clear that a market that constitutes a regulated market of significant size is generally a future and/or options market based on the underlying reference asset rather than the spot commodity markets, which are often unregulated. The Exchange believes that the following excerpt from the Teucrium Approval is particular informative:

The CME “comprehensively surveils futures market conditions and price movements on a real-time and ongoing basis in order to detect and prevent price distortions, including price distortions caused by manipulative efforts.” Thus, the CME's surveillance can reasonably be relied upon to capture the effects on the Bitcoin Futures market caused by a person attempting to manipulate the proposed futures ETP by manipulating the price of Bitcoin Futures contracts, whether that attempt is made by directly trading on the CME Bitcoin futures market or indirectly by trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market. As such, when the CME shares its surveillance information with Arca, the information would assist in detecting and deterring fraudulent or manipulative misconduct related to the non-cash assets held by the proposed ETP.

Bitcoin Futures pricing is based on pricing from spot bitcoin markets. The statement from the Teucrium Approval that “CME's surveillance can reasonably be relied upon to capture the effects on the Bitcoin Futures market caused by a person attempting to manipulate the proposed futures ETP by manipulating the price of Bitcoin Futures contracts. . .indirectly by trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market,” makes clear that the Commission believes that CME's surveillance can capture the effects of trading on the relevant spot markets on the pricing of Bitcoin Futures. If CME is able to detect such attempts at manipulation in the complex and interconnected spot bitcoin market, how would such an ability to detect attempted manipulation and the utility in sharing that information with the listing exchange apply only to Bitcoin Futures ETFs and not Spot Bitcoin ETPs? Stated a different way, given that there is significant trading volume on numerous bitcoin platforms that are not part of the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate and that arbitrage opportunities across bitcoin platforms means that such trading volume will influence spot bitcoin prices across the market and, despite this, the Commission still believes that CME can detect attempted manipulation of the Bitcoin Futures through “trading outside of the Bitcoin Futures market,” it is clear that such ability would apply equally to both Bitcoin Futures ETFs and Spot Bitcoin ETPs. To take it a step further, such an ability would also seem to be a strong indication that the Bitcoin Futures market represents a regulated market of significant size. To be clear, the Exchange agrees with the Commission on this point (and the implications of their conclusions) and notes that the pricing mechanism applicable to the Shares is similar to the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate.

Commodity-Based Trust Shares

The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in that the Shares will be listed on the Exchange pursuant to the initial and continued listing criteria in Nasdaq Rule 5711(d). The Exchange believes that its surveillance procedures are adequate to properly monitor the trading of the Shares on the Exchange during all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and the applicable federal securities laws. Trading of the Shares through the Exchange will be subject to the Exchange's surveillance procedures for derivative products, as well as cross-market surveillances administered by FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement, which are also designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws, including Commodity-Based Trust Shares.

The issuer has represented to the Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by the Trust or the Shares to comply with the continued listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under section 19(g)(1) of the Exchange Act, the Exchange will surveil for compliance with the continued listing requirements. If the Trust or the Shares are not in compliance with the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures under the Nasdaq 5800 Series. The Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and listed bitcoin derivatives via the ISG, from other exchanges who are members or affiliates of the ISG, or with which the Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.

Availability of Information

The Exchange also believes that the proposal promotes market transparency in that a large amount of information is currently available about bitcoin and will be available regarding the Trust and the Shares. In addition to the price transparency of the CF Benchmarks Index, the Trust will provide information regarding the Trust's bitcoin holdings as well as additional data regarding the Trust.

The website for the Trust ( https://www.iShares.com ), which will be publicly accessible at no charge, will contain the following information: (a) the prior Business Day's NAV per Share; (b) the prior Business Day's Nasdaq official closing price; (c) calculation of the premium or discount of such Nasdaq official closing price against such NAV per Share; (d) data in chart form displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the Nasdaq official closing price against the NAV per Share, within appropriate ranges for each of the four previous calendar quarters (or for the life of the Trust, if shorter); (e) the prospectus; and (f) other applicable quantitative information. The Trust Administrator will also disseminate the Trust's holdings on a daily basis on the Trust's website. Information about the CF Benchmarks Index, including key elements of how the CF Benchmarks Index is calculated, is publicly available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/. The NAV per Share for the Trust will be calculated by the Trust Administrator once a day and will be disseminated daily to all market participants at the same time. Quotation and last-sale information regarding the Shares will be disseminated through the facilities of the relevant securities information processor.

Also, an estimated value that reflects an estimated IIV will be disseminated. For more information on IIV, including the calculation methodology, see “Intraday Indicative Value x 02EE; above. One or more major market data vendors will provide an IIV per Share updated every 15 seconds, as calculated by the Exchange or a third-party financial data provider during the Exchange's Regular Market Session (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET). The IIV will be calculated by using the prior day's closing NAV per Share as a base and updating that value during the Exchange's Regular Market Session to reflect changes in the value of the Trust's NAV per Share during the trading day.

Quotation and last sale information for bitcoin is widely disseminated through a variety of major market data vendors, including Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as CF Benchmarks. Information relating to trading, including price and volume information, in bitcoin is available from major market data vendors and from the platforms on which bitcoin are traded. Depth of book information is also available from bitcoin platforms. The normal trading hours for bitcoin platforms are 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

In sum, the Exchange believes that this proposal is consistent with the requirements of section 6(b)(5) of the Act, that this filing sufficiently demonstrates that the Bitcoin Futures market represents a regulated market of significant size, and that on the whole the manipulation concerns previously articulated by the Commission are sufficiently mitigated to the point that they are outweighed by investor protection issues that would be resolved by approving this proposal.

The Exchange believes that the proposal is, in particular, designed to protect investors and the public interest. Premium and discount volatility, high fees, rolling costs, insufficient disclosures, and technical hurdles are putting U.S. investor money at risk on a daily basis that could potentially be eliminated through access to a Spot Bitcoin ETP. As such, the Exchange believes that this proposal acts to limit the risk to U.S. investors that are increasingly seeking exposure to bitcoin by providing direct, 1-for-1 exposure to bitcoin in a regulated, transparent, exchange-traded vehicle, specifically by: (i) reducing premium volatility; (ii) reducing management fees through meaningful competition; (iii) providing an alternative to Bitcoin Futures ETFs which will eliminate roll cost; (iv) reducing risks associated with investing in operating companies that are imperfect proxies for bitcoin exposure; and (v) providing an alternative to custodying spot bitcoin. Finally, the Exchange notes that in addition to all of the arguments herein which it believes sufficiently establishes the Bitcoin Futures market as a regulated market of significant size, it is logically inconsistent to find that the Bitcoin Futures market is a significant market as it relates to the Bitcoin Futures market, but not a significant market as it relates to the bitcoin spot market for the numerous reasons laid out above.

For the above reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of section 6(b)(5) of the Act.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purpose of the Act. The Exchange notes that the proposed rule change rather will facilitate the listing and trading of additional exchange-traded product that will enhance competition among both market participants and listing venues, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

No written comments were either solicited or received.

III. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

• Use the Commission's internet comment form ( https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ); or

• Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include file number SR–NASDAQ–2023–016 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

• Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549–1090.

All submissions should refer to file number SR–NASDAQ–2023–016. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's internet website ( https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions should refer to file number SR–NASDAQ–2023–016 and should be submitted on or before February 2, 2024.