This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Fintech Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . Tech entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have appointed State Street as the transfer agent for their bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Winklevoss Bitcoin Fund, according to their latest regulatory filing on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. This means State Street will act as the fund’s administrator. The brothers also appointed San Francisco-based Burr Pilger Mayer to act as auditor for the fund. The Winklevoss brothers likely brought these major players on board to increase the likelihood of SEC approval for their ETF. As transfer agent, State Street will record ownership changes, calculate daily net asset values, and maintain all records for the fund. As auditor, Burr Pilger Mayer will be responsible for carrying out monthly "proof of control" exercises to ensure that all of the Bitcoin reported as held by the ETF are legitimate. The entrepreneurs probably hope that such rigorous oversight will reassure regulators that their fund is playing by the rules, and that the reputation of these firms will add respectability to their venture — increasing their chances of SEC approval. The two businessmen likely want SEC approval because they think this will attract mainstream investors to their fund. The approval process for the Winklevoss fund has already dragged on for three years, according to the WSJ, and the SEC recently put approval on hold once again. We expect the brothers are persisting because success would mean they had the first Bitcoin-based ETF approved by the SEC, which could boost the attractiveness of the fund. But first they have to convince the SEC that their ETF will not be unduly risky for investors — a hard task since Bitcoin has proven to be a very […]
