Grayscale Creates Fund Management Entity to Expand ETF Offerings
The crypto asset manager sued the SEC in January because its spot bitcoin ETF was not approved.
The Grayscale Funds Trust will be run by Grayscale Investments, which is a manager of cryptocurrency assets.
With the help of the new entity, the company will be able to take care of many of its publicly traded financial goods on its own.
Crypto’s Future
Grayscale has also filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for three new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that focus on cryptocurrencies. There is a Global Bitcoin Composite ETF, an Ethereum Futures ETF, and a Privacy ETF.
Grayscale’s decision to file registration statements for three new cryptocurrency-focused ETFs shows that the company is still optimistic about the future of investment products based on cryptocurrencies.
“Investors want and deserve access to future-forward investment opportunities, and Grayscale Funds Trust will allow us to expand our offerings as we build our ETF franchise under @Dave_LaValle,” Grayscale said in its statement on Twitter.
ETF Expansion Plans
The company said in a press release that the Global Bitcoin Composite ETF would invest in exchange-traded products that are linked to or backed by Bitcoin, while the Ethereum futures ETF would give indirect exposure to the possible future value of Ether through shares that track ETH’s price.
The Grayscale Privacy ETF, on the other hand, would put its money into companies that are making privacy technology based on blockchain. But until the SEC accepts the registration statement, the public won’t be able to buy any of the three ETFs.
Grayscale made this announcement even though the company is still in a fight with the SEC over turning its $17 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Fight Over Bitcoin ETF Spot
The SEC has approved a few Bitcoin Futures ETFs, but it has turned down every application for a spot Bitcoin investment product so far, noting concerns about fraud and market manipulation that could happen.
Grayscale sued the government on January 13 because its application was turned down. It said that the SEC was being unfair by treating crypto spot traded exchange-traded products differently than futures products. In its brief against the SEC, Grayscale said that prices on the Bitcoin futures market and the cash BTC market are 99.9% the same.
Grayscale’s main product, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which tracks BTC prices, hit a record discount of 47.35% to net asset value on February 13. This was because the market as a whole was going down. Recently, FTX sued Grayscale for not letting them redeem Bitcoin and Ethereum.
