Grayscale Looks Forward to Entering European Market

Wednesday, 27/04/2022 | 23:43 GMT by Felipe Erazo
  • The fund manager is having meetings with several possible partners.
  • Grayscale has around $35 billion worth of assets under management.
GRAYSCALE

Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, is set to expand beyond North America, as it targets Europe. According to the Financial Times, the fund manager has been holding a series of meetings with potential partners to materialize the plans.

“We’re conducting some research, meeting with different organizations and different partners to determine what is going to be the best way for Grayscale to bring a lot of that accessibility, a lot of the insights we have to European investors,” Michael Sonnenshein, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, told the Financial Times. In addition, he wants to bring what they learned in the US to Europe with the manoeuvre.

Sonnenshein added: “We’re exploring a lot of European financial hubs to really think about what is going to be the right approach for us and how best to bring Grayscale to Europe.”

In an interview with the Financial News, Grayscale’s CEO expressed concern about 'double standards' in cryptocurrency regulation. According to him, it is “very difficult to understand” why the SEC continues to reject spot ETF proposals despite being comfortable with futures ETFs.

Delaying Spot Bitcoin ETFs

In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was delaying Grayscale’s proposed ETF, a spot bitcoin exchange -traded fund. The SEC is concerned about how Grayscale will fend off manipulation and fraud.

Earlier in 2021, Grayscale asked to convert its GBPTC shares into a spot bitcoin ETF. This is the second time the SEC is delaying its decision on Grayscale’s application. The SEC has already rejected several ETF applications from WisdomTree, Krypton, Fidelity and SkyBridge.

In October 2021, the SEC did approve 2 bitcoin future-based funds: ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF. The SEC, to this date, has not approved a spot bitcoin ETF. Fidelity was able to launch its spot bitcoin ETF in Canada, Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF (FBTC).

Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, is set to expand beyond North America, as it targets Europe. According to the Financial Times, the fund manager has been holding a series of meetings with potential partners to materialize the plans.

“We’re conducting some research, meeting with different organizations and different partners to determine what is going to be the best way for Grayscale to bring a lot of that accessibility, a lot of the insights we have to European investors,” Michael Sonnenshein, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, told the Financial Times. In addition, he wants to bring what they learned in the US to Europe with the manoeuvre.

Sonnenshein added: “We’re exploring a lot of European financial hubs to really think about what is going to be the right approach for us and how best to bring Grayscale to Europe.”

In an interview with the Financial News, Grayscale’s CEO expressed concern about 'double standards' in cryptocurrency regulation. According to him, it is “very difficult to understand” why the SEC continues to reject spot ETF proposals despite being comfortable with futures ETFs.

Delaying Spot Bitcoin ETFs

In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was delaying Grayscale’s proposed ETF, a spot bitcoin exchange -traded fund. The SEC is concerned about how Grayscale will fend off manipulation and fraud.

Earlier in 2021, Grayscale asked to convert its GBPTC shares into a spot bitcoin ETF. This is the second time the SEC is delaying its decision on Grayscale’s application. The SEC has already rejected several ETF applications from WisdomTree, Krypton, Fidelity and SkyBridge.

In October 2021, the SEC did approve 2 bitcoin future-based funds: ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF. The SEC, to this date, has not approved a spot bitcoin ETF. Fidelity was able to launch its spot bitcoin ETF in Canada, Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF (FBTC).

About the Author: Felipe Erazo
Felipe Erazo
  • 1036 Articles
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About the Author: Felipe Erazo
Felipe earned a degree in journalism at the University of Chile with the highest honour in the overall ranking, and he also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Communication. In addition, he has been working as a freelance writer and Forex/crypto analyst, with experience gained from several forex broker firms and crypto-related media outlets around the world. He has been involved in the world of online forex trading since 2010 and in the crypto sphere since 2015.
  • 1036 Articles
  • 46 Followers

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