Grayscale Broadens ETF Presence with Launch of Three New Crypto Funds

Grayscale Investments Announces Three New Crypto ETFs and a New Entity to Manage Funds

Grayscale Investments, a cryptocurrency asset manager, has proposed three new crypto-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for approval. The asset manager has also launched a new arm of its business, the Grayscale Funds Trust, to manage its growing financial products. Despite the SEC’s previous roadblocks over crypto-related ETFs, Grayscale has filed a registration statement with the regulator for these new ETFs, including an Ethereum Futures ETF, a Global Bitcoin Composite ETF, and a Privacy ETF.

New Crypto ETFs by Grayscale Investments

• The Global Bitcoin Composite ETF would invest in exchange-traded products related to Bitcoin, including Bitcoin mining firms. At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $27,404.
• The Ethereum futures ETF would provide an indirect exposure to the potential future value of Ether, tracking its price through shares. At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $1,821.
• The Grayscale Privacy ETF would invest in companies working on blockchain-based privacy technology, according to the filing.

Until the registration statement for the Grayscale Funds Trust is approved by the SEC, none of these ETFs will be available for public purchase. The announcement comes as Grayscale is still dealing with an ongoing conflict with the regulator over converting its $17 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF product.

Grayscale’s Conflict with the SEC

On January 13, Grayscale sued the regulator for rejecting its application to convert GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF product. The company argues that the SEC acted indiscriminately in treating crypto spot traded exchange-traded products differently from futures products. Grayscale states that there is a 99.9% correlation between prices in the Bitcoin futures market and the spot Bitcoin market. While the SEC has approved several Bitcoin Futures ETFs, it has so far denied all spot Bitcoin investment product applications, citing concerns over potential fraud and market manipulation.