just now
Clear Street, a cloud-native financial infrastructure technology firm, has executed Bitcoin Depositary Receipt (BTC DR) trades for institutional clients UTXO Management and GTS, marking the first time BTC DRs have been traded through a traditional prime brokerage platform and settled through the Depository Trust Company (DTC).
Receipts Depositary Corporation (RDC) served as the Depositary for the BTC DRs and issued the receipts that were subsequently traded.
Modelled on the American Depositary Receipt framework, BTC DRs are direct, 100% Bitcoin-backed securities that are fully fungible, cleared and settled through DTC, and available to qualifying institutional investors. Each BTC DR represents a bankruptcy remote, direct ownership claim on a particular amount of Bitcoin, held at Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., the first federally chartered crypto bank in the US.
In addition to being tradable as securities in traditional markets, BTC DRs can be converted on an intraday basis into the underlying Bitcoin and vice versa. The instrument is intended to provide holders with an additional diversification tool and an avenue to access Bitcoin exposure with a direct beneficial interest in Bitcoin held in segregated, regulated custody.
Clear Street processed the transaction through its modern infrastructure, demonstrating that BTC DRs can be integrated into existing institutional workflows with no new custody arrangements, wallets or blockchain infrastructure required of the end client. UTXO Management, a Bitcoin-focused investment firm, initiated the creation of the BTC DRs, with the resulting receipts held in its prime brokerage account at Clear Street via DTC.
GTS, a global electronic market maker and liquidity provider, participated as a counterparty in the related trade execution as part of its strategic priority to support digital asset structures at the intersection of capital markets and blockchain.
Robert Rutherford, Chief Executive Officer, Clear Street Digital
Robert Rutherford, Chief Executive Officer, Clear Street Digital said:
"The convergence of digital assets and traditional finance is here and the trend continues. Bitcoin Depositary Receipts represent exactly the kind of innovative, cross-asset class, institutional-grade product that Clear Street was built to deliver.
By executing the first BTC DR through our cloud native single ledger infrastructure, we are demonstrating that Bitcoin exposure no longer requires a separate operational stack. We are proud to deliver this milestone alongside RDC, UTXO Management and GTS."
Jessica Raybeck, Head of Digital Asset Strategy, GTS commented:
"We continue to see increased interest from institutions around solutions that bridge traditional capital markets infrastructure and emerging digital asset ecosystems. GTS is focused on innovation that expands access to digital through efficient trading frameworks."
Clear Street Digital, the Company's digital assets division, recently launched large-scale OTC spot trading across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and a broad range of altcoins and stablecoins. The BTC DR capability extends the platform with structured, DTC-native Bitcoin exposure alongside its existing spot execution, financing and clearing services.
Found this interesting? Become a member of LiquidityFinder and get daily industry news direct to your inbox — join here: https://liquidityfinder.com/join
