Onramp Launches Bitcoin Trust Using Multi-Signature

According to CoinDesk, bitcoin financial services company Onramp has launched a spot bitcoin trust for high-net-worth investors, which uses multi-signatures to achieve multi-party escrow, and a group of independent custodians each hold a private key. Each unit of the trust will be equivalent to one Bitcoin and clients will be able to process in-kind redemptions where they redeem the underlying asset (Bitcoin) without triggering a taxable event. Currently, bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States are not allowed to hold bitcoin directly, and typically hold bitcoin futures contracts. Another investment fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), does hold BTC but does not allow physical redemptions. Additionally, Onramp has enlisted qualified custodian Kingdom Trust and bitcoin financial services firm Unchained Capital to create a 2-of-3 multi-signature model, meaning two of these three entities need to sign transactions to transfer customer funds. Its purpose is to allow customers to buy bitcoin directly without the hassle of self-custody or the risk of trusting a single custodian.