6. Related Parties

The Trust considered the following entities, their directors, and certain employees to be related parties of the Trust as of December 31, 2025: DCG, GSO, GSIS, and Grayscale Securities. As of both December 31, 2025 and 2024, 14,977 Shares of the Trust were held by related parties of the Trust.

On January 1, 2025, GSI consummated an internal corporate reorganization (the “Reorganization”), pursuant to which GSI, the Sponsor of the Trust prior to the Reorganization, merged with and into GSO, a Delaware limited liability company and a consolidated subsidiary of DCG, with GSO continuing as the surviving company (the “Merger”). As a result of the Merger, GSO succeeded by operation of law to all the rights, powers, privileges and franchises and became subject to all of the obligations, liabilities, restrictions and disabilities of GSI, including with respect to the Sponsor Contracts (as defined below), all as provided under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act. The Reorganization is not expected to have any material impact on the operations of the Trust.

In connection with the Reorganization, on January 1, 2025, and promptly following the effectiveness of the Merger, GSO assigned certain contracts pertaining to its role as Sponsor (as such term is defined in the Trust Agreement) of the Trust (such contracts, the “Sponsor Contracts”) to GSIS, a Delaware limited liability company and a consolidated subsidiary of GSO, whereby GSIS assumed all of the rights and obligations of GSO under the Sponsor Contracts. Other than the assumption of the Sponsor Contracts by GSIS, the Reorganization does not alter the rights or obligations under any of the Sponsor Contracts.

In connection with the Reorganization, on January 1, 2025, and promptly following the effectiveness of the Merger, GSO and GSIS executed a Certificate of Admission, pursuant to which GSIS was admitted as an additional Sponsor of the Trust under the Trust Agreement, by and among GSO (as successor in interest to GSI), the Trustee, and the shareholders from time to time thereunder, as amended from time to time. GSIS shall be subject to the rights and obligations of a Sponsor under the Trust Agreement. On January 3, 2025, GSO voluntarily withdrew as a Sponsor of the Trust pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement, and, effective May 3, 2025, became the sole remaining Sponsor of the Trust.

On October 22, 2025, GSO Intermediate Holdings Corporation (“GSOIH”), a Delaware corporation which was the sole managing member of GSO, consummated an internal corporate reorganization (the “Management Reorganization”). Pursuant to the Management Reorganization, GSOIH transferred a portion of its common membership units of GSO for Class A shares of Grayscale Investments, Inc. (“Grayscale Investments”), a Delaware corporation incorporated in connection with the Management Reorganization, and ceded its managing member rights in GSO to Grayscale Investments. As a result of the Reorganization, Grayscale Investments is now the sole managing member of GSO, the sole member of the Sponsor. Also in connection with the Reorganization, on October 22, 2025, DCG Grayscale Holdco, LLC (“DCG Holdco”), the sole stockholder of Grayscale Investments, elected a board of directors (the “Board”) at Grayscale Investments.

In accordance with the Trust Agreement governing the Trust, the Trust pays a fee to the Sponsor, calculated as 2.5% of the aggregate value of the Trust’s assets, less its liabilities (which include any accrued but unpaid expenses up to, but excluding, the date of calculation), as calculated and published by the Sponsor or its delegates in the manner set forth in the Trust Agreement (the “Sponsor’s Fee”). The Sponsor’s Fee accrues daily in U.S. dollars and is payable in ETC, monthly in arrears. The amount of ETC payable in respect of each daily U.S. dollar accrual will be determined by reference to the same U.S. dollar value of ETC used to determine such accrual. For purposes of these financial statements, the U.S. dollar value of ETC is determined by reference to the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market that the Trust considers its principal market as of 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each valuation date. The Trust held no Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency as of December 31, 2025 and 2024. No Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currencies have been distributed in payment of the Sponsor’s Fee during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023.

As partial consideration for receipt of the Sponsor’s Fee, the Sponsor is obligated under the Trust Agreement to assume and pay all fees and other expenses incurred by the Trust in the ordinary course of its affairs, excluding taxes, but including marketing fees; administrator fees, if any; custodian fees; transfer agent fees; trustee fees; the fees and expenses related to the listing, quotation or trading of the 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; ordinary course legal fees and expenses; audit fees; regulatory fees, including, if applicable, any fees relating to the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act; printing and mailing costs; the costs of maintaining the Trust’s

website and applicable license fees (together, 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 Trust may incur certain extraordinary, non-recurring 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 Trust to protect the Trust or the interests of shareholders (including in connection with any Incidental Rights and any IR Virtual Currency), any indemnification of the Custodian or other agents, service providers or counterparties of the Trust, the fees and expenses related to the listing, quotation or trading of the 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 Digital Asset Account ETC, Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency in such quantity as may be necessary to permit payment of such Additional Trust Expenses and (ii) may either (x) cause the Trust (or its delegate) to convert such ETC, Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency 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 Trust, cause the Trust (or its delegate) to deliver such ETC, Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency in kind to the Sponsor, in each case in such quantity as may be necessary to permit payment of such Additional Trust Expenses.

For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, the Trust incurred Sponsor’s Fees of $5,161,077, $7,157,210 and $5,476,642, respectively. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, there were no accrued and unpaid Sponsor’s Fees. In addition, the Sponsor may pay Additional Trust Expenses on behalf of the Trust, which are reimbursable by the Trust to the Sponsor. For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, the Sponsor did not pay any Additional Trust Expenses on behalf of the Trust.

On June 21, 2021, the board of the Sponsor approved the purchase by DCG, the indirect parent company of the Sponsor, of up to $50 million worth of Shares of the Trust. Subsequently, DCG authorized such purchase. On March 2, 2022, the Board approved the purchase by DCG of up to an aggregate total of $200 million worth of Shares of the Trust and shares of any of the following five investment products the Sponsor also acts as the sponsor and manager of, including Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (NYSE Arca: GBTC), Grayscale Bitcoin Cash Trust (BCH) (OTCQX: BCHG), Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF (NYSE Arca: GDLC), Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (NYSE Arca: ETHE), and Grayscale Stellar Lumens Trust (XLM) (OTCQX: GXLM). This increased DCG’s prior authorization to purchase up to $50 million worth of Shares by up to a maximum of $200 million. The Share purchase authorization does not obligate DCG to acquire any specific number of Shares in any period, and may be expanded, extended, modified, or discontinued at any time. From June 21, 2021 through December 31, 2021, DCG purchased a total of $45.3 million worth of Shares of the Trust. From January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2025, DCG did not purchase any Shares of the Trust under this authorization.