Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
In other words, it will become a market maker. Previously it had served as a vehicle for passively investing in Bitcoins.
"SecondMarket is currently buying bitcoin," an announcement on SecondMarket's website says. "Any bitcoin holders interested in selling blocks of bitcoin can benefit from our deep knowledge base of the bitcoin markets."
But you have to own a minimum of 25 full Bitcoins to participate. In an email to BI, Silbert said SecondMarket has not analyzed how many individuals own a minimum 25 Bitcoin, but that, "With Wall Street and institutional investors moving into Bitcoin, there is a clear need for a U.S.-based, regulated, compliant and trustworthy bitcoin exchange. This could be the first step in that direction."
He's referring to the problems experienced in the past 48 hours at Japan-based Mt. Gox, at one time the world's largest USD-traded exchange. Mt. Gox was forced to halt all withdrawals today because of a technical glitch. SecondMarket is already a registered broker-dealer, so it is well positioned to fill the gap Mt. Gox's troubles appear to be creating.
The Bitcoin Investment Trust manages $65 million in assets.
The average Bitcoin price this afternoon was $747.