The Sponsor, from time to time, may temporarily waive all or a portion of the Sponsor’s Fee in its sole discretion. Presently, the Sponsor does not intend to waive any of the Sponsor’s Fee and there are no circumstances under which the Sponsor has determined it will definitely waive the fee.
After the BTC Trust’s payment of the Sponsor’s Fee to the Sponsor, the Sponsor may elect to convert any Bitcoin received as payment of the Sponsor’s Fee into U.S. dollars. The rate at which the Sponsor converts such Bitcoin to U.S. dollars may differ from the rate at which the relevant Sponsor’s Fee was determined. The BTC Trust will not be responsible for any fees and expenses incurred by the Sponsor to convert Bitcoin received in payment of the Sponsor’s Fee into U.S. dollars.
As partial consideration for its receipt of the Sponsor’s Fee, the Sponsor is obligated under the BTC Trust Agreement to assume and pay all fees and other expenses incurred by the BTC Trust in the ordinary course of its affairs, excluding taxes, but including: (i) the Marketing Fee, (ii) the Administrator Fee, (iii) the Custodian Fee and fees for any other security vendor engaged by the BTC Trust, (iv) the Transfer Agent Fee, (v) the Trustee fee, (vi) the fees and expenses related to the listing, quotation or trading of the BTC Shares on any Secondary Market (including customary legal, marketing and audit fees and expenses) in an amount up to $600,000 in any given fiscal year, (vii) ordinary course, legal fees and expenses, (viii) audit fees, (ix) regulatory fees, including, if applicable, any fees relating to the registration of the BTC Shares under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, (x) printing and mailing costs, (xi) costs of maintaining the BTC Trust’s website and (xii) applicable license fees (each, a “Sponsor-paid Expense” and collectively, the “Sponsor-paid Expenses”), provided that any expense that qualifies as an Additional Trust Expense will be deemed to be an Additional Trust Expense and not a Sponsor-paid Expense.
The BTC Trust may incur certain extraordinary, nonrecurring expenses that are not Sponsor-paid Expenses, including, but not limited to, taxes and governmental charges, expenses and costs of any extraordinary services performed by the Sponsor (or any other service provider) on behalf of the BTC Trust to protect the BTC Trust or the interests of shareholders, any indemnification of the Custodian or other agents, service providers or counterparties of the BTC Trust, the fees and expenses related to the listing, quotation or trading of the BTC Shares on any Secondary Market (including legal, marketing and audit fees and expenses) to the extent exceeding $600,000 in any given fiscal year and extraordinary legal fees and expenses, including any legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with litigation, regulatory enforcement or investigation matters (collectively, “Additional Trust Expenses”).
In such circumstances, the Sponsor or its delegate (i) will instruct the Custodian to withdraw from the BTC Trust’s Vault Balance Bitcoin in such quantity as may be necessary to permit payment of such Additional Trust Expenses and (ii) may either (x) cause the BTC Trust (or its delegate) to convert such Bitcoins into U.S. dollars or other fiat currencies at the Actual Exchange Rate or (y) when the Sponsor incurs such expenses on behalf of the BTC Trust, cause the BTC Trust (or its delegate) to deliver such Bitcoin in kind to the Sponsor in satisfaction of such Additional Trust Expenses.
Although the Sponsor is obligated to use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the highest price when engaging other parties to assist with the sale of the BTC Trust’s Bitcoin to raise proceeds for any Additional Trust Expenses, the Sponsor will have some discretion in arranging for the sale of the BTC Trust’s Bitcoin, and may engage one or more of its affiliates to assist with any such sale. The Sponsor and its respective directors, officers, employees, affiliates, and/or parties engaged to assist with the sale of the BTC Trust’s Bitcoin may trade in the Bitcoin, digital asset, derivative or other markets for their own accounts, and in doing so may take positions opposite to or ahead of those held by the BTC Trust and may compete with the BTC Trust for positions in the marketplace. For example, sales of the BTC Trust’s Bitcoin for the satisfaction of any Additional Trust Expenses may create conflicts of interest on behalf of one or more such parties in respect of their obligation to the BTC Trust. The Sponsor has adopted and implemented policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure compliance with applicable law, including a Compliance Manual and Code of Ethics, which address conflicts of interest. See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to Potential Conflicts of Interest—
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