New York-based crypto-fund manager Grayscale today reported a record $906 million in crypto inflows in the second quarter of 2020 — nearly double its previous record set in Q1 at $500 million. The new data suggest that institutional investors, dominated by hedge funds, have been scooping up Bitcoin products, despite a historically tumultuous market.
According to Grayscale, the figures show strong and sustained evidence that investors are increasing their digital asset exposure.
Investments into the company’s flagship Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) hit a record high in the May-June quarter, averaging $57.8 million per week . At the end of June, the company’s total assets under management since inception seven years ago totaled approximately $2.6 billion.
For the first time, inflows into Grayscale products over in a six month time frame crossed the $1 billion threshold. Cumulative investment across the Grayscale family of products in the H1 2020 has reached $1.4 billion.
Besides institutional investors, which accounted for 85 percent of the total investment in the second quarter, Grayscale said accredited individuals, retirement accounts and family offices increased their involvement. In addition, new investors accounted for $124.1 million of inflows and 57% of the investor base.
In addition, following the record quarter, Grayscale® Ethereum Trust now holds approximately 15 percent of the entire inflows into the Grayscale products, the company noted on Wednesday. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, however, accounts for the bulk of the Q2 investments, with an inflow of $751 million.
Grayscale’s other Ethereum products have also outperformed, with Classic Trust and Grayscale® Digital Large Cap Fund have combined exceeded $50 million of inflows during the last 12 months. Notably, inflows into Grayscale’s Litecoin Trust also saw its largest figure to date.
Grayscale Investments, a unit of Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group, has previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list its Bitcoin Investment Trust as an exchange-traded fund in a $500 million initial public offering. The request was filed in 2017, only to withdraw after the SEC denied the Winklevoss ETF.
