Digital Currency Group manages the publicly traded Bitcoin Investment Trust (Symbol: GBTC) – were combined with seed investments founder Barry Silbert had made in the bitcoin and blockchain space. In 2016 DCG partnered with Amazon Web Services to create a laboratory environment allowing companies to experiment with blockchain technologies. Established in 2013, Grayscale is a digital currency investing firm. It manages the Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT), provides titled, auditable bitcoin exposure through a traditional investment vehicle. BIT shares are the first publicly quoted securities solely invested in, and deriving value from, the price of bitcoin. The Trust trades under symbol: GBTC on the
Virtual currency law in the United States The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) describes Virtual Currencies (VCs) as "a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value [and] does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction." Although, electronic payment systems have been part of American life since at least 1871 when Western Union "introduced money transfer" through the telegraph and in 1914 "introduced the first consumer charge-card", virtual currencies differ from these digital payment structures because unlike traditional digital transfers of value, virtual currencies do not represent a claim on value; rather the virtual currency