Grayscale Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group and the sponsor of the Bitcoin Investment Trust, has announced that it has requested the withdrawal of its Registration Statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed public offering of its shares.

Initially filed in January this year, the Registration Statement has not been declared effective, and no securities have been sold in connection with the offering described in the Registration Statement, the release stated.

The announcement follows the withdrawal of the "Rule 19b‑4" application by NYSE Arca last month. The application sought approval from the SEC to list shares of the Bitcoin Investment Trust on NYSE Arca. Noting the rejection of two applications for the exchange listing of digital currency products earlier this year by the SEC, Grayscale Investment said that there have not been enough regulatory developments to prompt the SEC to approve a similar application.

Grayscale Investment said that the withdrawal of the Registration Statement does not impact quotation of the Trust's shares on the OTCQX. It said:

“Because an exchange listing of the Trust's shares is not currently feasible, the Sponsor has determined that it is in the best interests of the Trust to withdraw the Registration Statement.

“The Sponsor intends to continue its dialogue with the SEC and to closely monitor regulatory developments in order to be prepared to proceed with a public offering and exchange listing of the Trust's shares when conditions permit, although the Sponsor cannot predict when this will be.”